I love to serve my family delicious nutritious meals, but if I am not on the ball at the beginning of the week by Thursday or Friday I've only got enough energy for a box of macaroni or a frozen pizza. Even though I don't have cable to watch it, I was inspired by Rachael Ray's A Week in a Day concept. I'm home all day Monday with time enough to cook and prep a few things for when things get hectic later in the week.This recipe fits in perfectly with that concept. When you've got some free time, throw the chicken breasts in the oven to bake. Put them in a container in the fridge for later in the week. You could even pre-bake the tostada shells and store them in a plastic bag when they've cooled. Our family loves this recipe and it could easily be adapted with other cuts of chicken. You could use this recipe to use up leftover shredded chicken, or I've even done it where I put a whole chicken in the crockpot on low for the afternoon, then shredded up the meat to use for both this meal and another.
Versatile, easy and delicious!
Recipe adapted from Kraft What's Cooking Summer '10
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Serves 4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 4 cups cooked shredded chicken)
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
8 small flour tortillas
1 tsp taco seasoning (homemade or store-bought)
lettuce, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3 tbsp ranch dressing
2 tbsp BBQ sauce
Avocado Corn Salsa*:
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 medium tomato, diced
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper
1 tsp Poco Picante Salsa seasoning (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken in 9x13 baking dish and season with salt and pepper and pour over BBQ sauce. Bake for 25 minutes, then shred. This can be done one or two days beforehand. Alternatively, you could use leftover shredded chicken heated up with BBQ sauce mixed in.
Take your small flour tortillas and place on a baking sheet*. Drizzle with a bit of vegetable oil and spread on with a pastry brush. To give the tostadas added flavor, sprinkle with a little bit of taco seasoning. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through until the tortillas are golden brown and crispy.
While the tostadas are baking make the avocado corn salsa by mixing together all salsa ingredients. Make the sauce by mixing together the ranch dressing and BBQ sauce.
To serve, put a tostada shell on the plate and top with shredded chicken, shredded cheese, lettuce and some avocado corn salsa. Drizzle over BBQ ranch sauce for added flavor.
*For kid size tostadas or to serve tostadas as an appetizer, use large 10 inch flour tortillas and cut out smaller circles with a cookie cutter. If you don't have a cookie cutter, you can use a jar lid and press down to indent the tortilla and then use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut it out. Bake the same as above.
Click for printable version of BBQ Ranch Chicken Tostadas with Avocado Corn Salsa
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THE RESULTS?
This is the perfect balance of flavors. The avocado corn salsa is amazing. Every time I make it my husband exclaims he could eat an entire bowl of just the salsa for supper and be totally happy. Mixed with the flavors of the smokey BBQ sauce and the tangy ranch dressing this dish pleases all members of the family. Fun for the kids with familiar flavors and delicious for the adults.
*Avocado Corn Salad: To make this salsa into a salad that can be served as a side dish, double or triple the quantities and serve with your favorite Mexican foods.