Mexico! Tostadas!

Of course my first food post was going to be a Mexican dish! I'm totally biased lol!

But I mean who doesn't like Mexican food?

*rhetorical question*

You probably thought for the country Mexico I was going to do tacos... right?

Most people when they think of Mexican food they think of tacos, but guys! Let me just tell you that there is SOOOOO much more to Mexican food than just tacos! There's gorditas, flautas, pozole, menudo, mole, enchiladas, chilaquiles, chiles rellenos, pambazos, carne en su jugo, birria, sopa de albondigas.. AY Dios Mio I can go on forever!

But today we are making Healthy - check every food box group-

Chicken Tinga Tostadas!

Ingredients:

• Hard shell tostadas

• 2-3 chicken breasts (3 if you want left overs)

• 1 tbsp olive oil, + 2 tsp

• 1/2 medium onion, chopped. *Save the other half and cut in half for the refried beans.

• 1/2 cup Sour cream, plus extra for garnishing

• 1 chicken buillon cube

• 1/2 cup of chicken broth from the boiled chicken breasts

• 2-3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (depending on the spiciness you want)

• 1 clove of garlic, skin peeled

• 1/4 lettuce head, shredded

• 1 tomato, diced

• 1 small can of refried beans

• Cotija cheese, OR queso fresco

• Salt & Pepper to taste (Measure with your 💗)

Pre-Cooking Notes:

• One of the best things I have learned is to salt as you go! I almost always salt along every step of the way. As I do this I always taste test too as to not over salt. Salt is one of those ingredients that enhances the other flavors in a dish so every once in a while, do a simple taste test and see how ya feel! If you think you're happy with the taste, hold back on the salt for the next few steps, if you think it needs more, keep lightly salting as you go.

• Measure with your heart (💗) is my way of saying, use as much or as little as your heart desires! Cooking is about having fun and no recipe is ever set in stone so if you find that it's a little too much paprika or not enough garlic, you are more than welcome to measure with your 💗.

Directions:

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Add in the chicken and cook thoroughly for about 20 min. Reserve the water from this pot for later use. Once the chicken is fully cooked take out of the broth and set aside to cool down. Once cooled, shred the chicken into small pieces and set aside. *Tip: For more flavor in the broth, try not too add too much water for a more concentrated flavor. Add enough water to the pot to cover the chicken breast.

2. In a separate pan, on medium heat, heat the olive oil and then add in the chopped onions and sauté them until they become translucent. Then add in the shredded chicken and occasionally toss to remove excess moisture from the chicken.

3. While the chicken is being sweated off, in a blender, add in 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup of the reserved chicken broth, chipotle peppers, a clove of garlic, the buillon cube, salt & pepper, then blend. **start with one chipotle pepper and add as you go if you are not use to spice. If you find that you're almost as the spice level you want but adding an extra pepper would be too much, add in some of the chipotle adobo sauce to give it that extra oomf you need!

4. Add your chipotle sauce mixture to the chicken and stir all together. Give it a final taste test then salt & pepper to taste. Let simmer on low for 12 minutes.

5. Feel free to skip this step if your in a time crunch: In a separate small sauce pan, heat up 2 tsp of olive oil and fry the halved onions for about 3 minutes. This will add flavor to the oil and your beans. Remove the onions then add in the refried beans from the can and gently stir for one minute then turn off heat. **if in a time crunch, feel free to microwave for one minute intervals until hot.

6. Grab a tostada and thin layer of the beans (about 1 tbsp) on one side of the tostada. On top of the beans, add one spoonful of the chicken tinga and spread to evenly coat the tostada, garnish with lettuce, tomato, and sprinkle some Mexican crumbly cheese and finish with a dollop of sour cream! (feel free to skip sour cream to make it even healthier)

Each tostada is about 200 calories so if you have 3 your right at 600 calories for the dish! Normally 3 is enough to fill me up so this is a guilt free dinner where it's totally okay to feel stuffed!

Also, if you have left overs of the tinga, you can make tacos, burritos, or simply eat it like a dip with tortilla chips. Feel free to add it to a nice salad as well! Its so versatile that the options are endless! Get creative and enjoy!

Buen Provecho!!