If there was any food that I can say was a staple other than tacos in our on the run journey to and through Mexico, it was toastadas. I never even encountered these until Grants Pass Oregon, where we were essentially stranded at the Taco Bell there. We ate the cheaper things off the menu, one of them being toastadas. They were just with refried beans, lettuce, tomato and shredded cheese but they were awesome for what they were. When we were in San Diego buying groceries meant to last us to Acapulco, we bought several large cans of refried beans, toastadas and shredded cheese. These items honestly did keep us fed throughout our trip and I'll probably have a fondness for them for the rest of my life.
I didn't take a materials picture like I generally do, but these are pretty simple. They're just corn tortillas fried, topped with refried beans and cheesy taco meat. There are many ways to do this, I generally like to have lettuce and tomato on mine as well, but we don't always have those things around. All that's needed is: ground chicken, garlic powder, paprika, salt, taqueria salsa, asadero cheese, oregano, beans, butter and toastadas. If you've got it, add some cumin to the meat, as it makes for a smokier, better flavor. Hot sauces and salsas are welcome at the end, to taste.
My refried beans are made using a simple but effective recipe. The art is more in the process than the ingredients. It's not about using pinto beans or any other specific bean, it's about how you treat them. This is something I'll go into detail about soon, but the idea is to blend them until smooth and heat in a buttered pan, boiling out extra moisture until the desired thickness, your desired thickness, is obtained.
I shared a bit more in depth my taco meat recipe in my recent crunchwrap article, but I'll overview it again here. I brown ground chicken, or other finely chopped or ground meat. I then add a bit of water and salsa, as well as seasonings to taste. How much depends on what I've got available and how many people I'm feeding. You want the meat to have a generous helping of everything but the oregano, though. I added fine chopped cheese here as well.
Once the cheese is melted and thoroughly distributed throughout the meat, it's ready. I removed it from the pan and cooked the refried beans in the same pan, a nice little trick that adds flavor and reduces dishes.
One plate serving of toastadas includes three, but my guests have been known to buy two plates in one evening.
Spread an even layer of beans on each toastada.
Then add an even layer of the meat and cheese mix. This is where any other toppings like lettuce, tomato, avocado, onion, jalapenos would be added, right on top.
We just made do with them as they were, and they were delicious. They're like smaller Mexican pizzas. It was something I never encountered on the east coast but they seemed common to Taco Bell restaurants on the west coast, probably due to local Mexican influence. As we moved closer to the border, toastadas became a staple available in grocery stores for cheap, which is why it was a first choice for us for cheap food while on the run. Incredibly easy and flavorful, they're worth it all around. For those that do not have toastadas available, a baked or fried tortilla would suffice, even flour based.
Happy cooking!