Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas with Mexican Rice

This is a newbie for us. I was in the mood for something different for dinner one night this week, so I went perusing the internet for ideas.

I came across this recipe on Cooking Light, and since it sounded really good, I decided to go with it. I wanted to pair it with something else, so I then went on a hunt for a mexican rice recipe. I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, so I used a couple different recipes as a foundation and added my own twists.

Both turned out awesome. Leftovers were fantastic, too.

Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas
(Source: Cooking Light)

Ingredients:
– 1 teaspoon ground cumin
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
– 2 teaspoons canola oil
– 12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into really small chunks
– 1 cup chopped red onion (about 1) (we used a mayan onion)
– 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears) (due to the winter, we used canned corn)
– 1 cup chopped zucchini (about 4 ounces)
– 1/2 cup green salsa (we substituted regular red salsa)
– 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided (we used dried cilantro)
– 4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
– Cooking spray
– 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (we used a pre-shredded “Mexican” mix)

Directions:
1. Preheat broiler.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; sauté for 3 minutes.

3. Add onion, corn, and zucchini to pan; sauté for 2 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in salsa and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently.

4. Working with 2 tortillas at a time, arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. (Ours took much less than three minutes. Also, going from some suggestions in the comments section on Cooking Light, after they browned on the first side, we took them out of the oven, turned them over, sprayed with more cooking spray, and put them back under the broiler to brown the other side as well. This made the tostadas nice and crispy, and they held up well to the weight of the ingredients on top of them.)

5. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese. Broil an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Sprinkle each serving with about 3/4 teaspoon of remaining cilantro. Serve immediately.

Mexican Rice
(Source: Adapted from Southern Living)

Ingredients:
– 1 1/4 cups long-grain rice
– 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
– 1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped onion
– 2 garlic cloves, minced
– 1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth
– 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
– 5 oz. water
– 1/2 tsp. salt
– 1/4 tsp. pepper
– 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
– 1 tsp. ground cumin
– 2 tsp. dried cilantro (optional)

Directions:
1. Saute rice in hot oil in a skillet over medium-high heat for three minutes or until lightly browned.

2. Add onion and garlic, and saute two minutes.

3. Stir in broth, tomato sauce, water, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and cilantro. Cover, reduce heat, and cook until tender (about 15-25 minutes).

4. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff rice with fork.