Vegetable Bean Tostadas Recipe

A Fun Addition to a Mexican Meal

Vegetable Bean Tostadas Recipe

As the farmer’s markets become more and more loaded with produce, it’s fun to invent new ways to incorporate all the bounty into meals. These tostadas are a bit messy to eat, but they are loads of fun to make. Feel free to play around with the vegetables and cheese any way you see fit! Get the kids involved by having them help you stir up the corn relish topping or sprinkle the cheese and beans on the tostadas before you pop them into the oven.  Try serving this with Mexican rice for a filling meal. Ole!

Ingredients:

1 lime
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1 (10 oz) package frozen corn kernels (thawed and drained)
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 jalapeño chile, seeded and chopped finely (if you don't like heat, use about 1/4 tsp chili powder instead)
2 Tbsp chopped coriander
1 pint grape tomatoes (halved)
8 oz grated Pepper Jack cheese
4 (6 inch) tortillas (or my No-Fail Flatbreads)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 avocado (cubed)

  To make the corn relish, zest the lime, cut it in half, and then squeeze the juice into a bowl. Stir in the scallions, corn, 1 Tbsp olive oil, and jalapeño (or chili powder). Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

  Preheat oven to 475 F.

  Brush both sides of the tortillas with the remaining oil and place them on a baking sheet. Divide the beans, tomatoes, and cheese between them. Bake for 10 minutes, switching and rotating pans 1/2 way through.

  When the cheese is melted and the tortillas are browned, remove them from the oven and transfer to a plate.  Top with the corn mixture and cubed avocado. Add a dollop of sour cream if you wish, and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Adapted from Every Day Food

She may go by the name Scatteredmom online, but Karen really is anything but scattered when it comes to the kitchen.  Churning out tasty treats within view of the Georgia Strait on Canada's west coast, Karen will hand you an organized weekly meal plan or teach you how to make meals from scratch.  As Mom to a teenage boy, she knows exactly what it takes to keep kids full and happy-which has really come in handy with her job as the Food Editor at Yummy Mummy Club.

A strong supporter of Food Revolution who has been endorsed by Jamie Oliver himself, by day Karen can be found working as a special education teaching assistant, running a kitchen and showing teenagers how to cook nutritious meals for themselves.  By night, when she's not chatting on Twitter and answering cooking questions,  she writes her popular blog Notes From the Cookie Jar, or posting mouthwatering recipes over at Chasing Tomatoes.  Not afraid to give her opinion and passionate about community, Karen spoke at Blissdom Canada 2010 and her writing has been published in Canadian Living magazine, as well as in various online publications. 

Follow Karen on Twitter @scatteredmom