A New Convenience Product

We have become huge fans of tostadas in our house. They make an excellent way to use up leftovers, and are also extremely quick to put together. I couldn't tell you what it really is that makes the difference to the kids when it comes to a tostada versus a taco, but I tell you, they eat the tostadas with relish- they love them. My only issue with them is the shells. We like them on corn tortillas best, and crisping corn tortillas can be done one of two ways. First, they can be fried in oil for the best flavor, but not exactly healthy. Second they can be baked in the oven, but there they go from soft to burnt in no time, so you really have to keep an eye on them. The whole "making of the tortillas" makes tostadas more time consuming and especially messy if you deep fry them.

Well last week when in the Hispanic section of the grocery store I spied my savior. The product that makes tostada night a weekly occurrence. And that is pre-made tostada shells. They are ready to go out of the package- crispy with corn flavor, and no partially hydrogenated fats so no trans fat. I could very well be the last person to discover these, but dinner went on the table last night in the amount of time it took to cook up some ears of corn- so less than 10 minutes. I had shredded BBQ chicken to use as the meat, shredded cheese, and the usual suspects of topping. Accompanied by sweet corn picked fresh that morning and sliced garden-fresh tomatoes. It could not have been better. These pre-made corn tostadas are the greatest thing since, well, sliced bread. A new pantry staple for us to be certain and at $2 for 10 servings- that's at least two meals for us, it's a reasonably priced pantry staple as well.