Monday, July 26, 2010

Tostadas. Yum. (And refried beans)

This is a 2 in 1 post. First, we're going to hit on beans.

These are regular pinto beans, easy to make into refried beans.

You just buy a bag of regular pinto beans. Take out the amount you want to make (we usually do half a 1 pound bag). Go through them, making sure there aren't any rocks. Dump them in a bowl and cover them with water. Let them soak for a good while (we usually do overnight). Once they soak up all that liquid, put them in a pot on the stove, adding some water and salt and let them simmer for several hours, adding water as needed. Presto, beans! You can also add onions/cilantro/tomatoes for easy barracho beans.

Once they are cooked, to make refried beans, drain off the extra liquid. Turn on the heat, and mash. Some people add lard/butter here, but we haven't found we needed it. The taste of the beans is good enough that you don't need to add that extra fat, but it's up to you. If they are runny, add a bit of flour and cook it good.



Here, we picked up some fresh corn tortillas from our meat market. I've not attempted to make my own, yet. Heat some oil in a skillet on medium heat, and drop a tortilla in. You want a nice, crisp finish on these. Once it's done, let it drain on a paper towel.

Scoop some beans on them, and cover with cheese, and pop under your broiler for a few minutes.


Drool. Seriously good stuff, people.

We chopped up some veggies, lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, jalapeno and dumped on as desired (the kids really liked this part). You can also top with taco meat, fajitas, and chicken.


I'm drooling here. And yes, that's a paper plate. For SHAME.

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