Festive Tostadas

Sometimes a new or different food product I see at the store prompts a family meal.  I saw some "red" (actually they were orange!) toastada shells and knew they would be a great for a Fall/Halloween dinner.

Tostadas are basically the equivalent of an open faced sandwich for a taco.  You start with a crispy flat corn tortilla and layer on toppings.  You can make your own shells by frying corn tortillas in oil until they are crispy or you can purchase the shells ready made.

Toppings can include anything you'd put on a taco--any style and combination of meat, beans, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, salsas.  One helpful tip is to spread a layer of refried beans down first to give a good base for the other toppings. 

Festive Tostadas
"red" tostada shells
refried beans
seasoned ground beef
shredded cheese
thinly sliced lettuce
diced tomatoes
sour cream
salsa

Top a tostada shell with your desired toppings.  My children got creative on their designs!  Sorry I don't have a photo--but if you want you can use the toppings to make funny faces or monster faces on the tostadas (sliced olives and colorful bell peppers would be great additional toppings).