Easy Cheap (and dairy free!) Tostadas

I'm one of those moms that is constantly on the go with tons of stuff to do during the day. With my oldest daughter starting school in August, I will be even more busy driving back and forth every day. So when it comes to cooking dinner in the evening I'm all for food that tastes good, doesn't take too much prep time, and is easy to make and cheap to buy. Actually, most of these ingredients you will already have in your fridge! These tostadas are fun for the kids (my oldest called it crunchy taco pizza) and easy for me so it's a win all around. I hope you enjoy them!

You will need:

1 or 2 pkgs Tostada Shells (Mexican Food section at your local grocery store, $.99/ea.)

1 Roma tomato (diced)

Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I used this and also had Veggie Shreds on hand for the dairy allergies in the family)

1 to 2 lbs ground turkey burger (you can also use ground beef or shredded chicken may even work), depending on the size of your family or your husband's appetite

Taco seasoning, 1 packet per 1 lb of meat or however much it says to use on the container

Tofutti Brand Regular Imitation Sour Cream-

dried chives, mayonaise, nutritional yeast, onion powder (for the cream cheese to make dip for a topping)

1/2 a medium green bell pepper, chopped (I was out at the time so there's none in the picture, but it makes a great topping)

1/2 a small white onion, chopped

Your favorite salsa and/or hot sauce (i.e. my hubby loves Tobasco)

1 can plain black beans (and a pot to cook them in)

salt and pepper (for the beans)

Cook your meat til fully brown and season w/ the Taco seasoning according to your taste and set that aside.

Next, empty your can of beans into a pot on the stove and let it come to a good solid boil. Once it's boiling, drain and rinse the beans and put them in your trusty food processor with plentiful salt and pepper to taste. (I'd say about a 1/2 tsp of pepper and salt both) Grind them up really well. If the bean paste is too thick for your liking, add a little bit of water at a time till you get a consistency you're happy with.

For your Tofu Sour Cream dip, empty the entire container of sour cream into a bigger bowl (not huge, but bigger than the container so you can stir things in without making a mess) and add two whopping tablespoons of Mayo. Stir that in well. Add a few pinches of chives, about a small tsp of onion powder and a couple tsp of nutritional yeast. Stir that all together and there is your dip, simple and easy.

Prepare all your veggies and set everything out in a salad bar fashion. Let your family go to town and make their own "crunchy taco pizzas" that they will totally love. This recipe can have plenty of dairy, or none at all which is wonderful and it is low cost and easy to whip up in a short amount of time. I'd say a total prep and cook time of less than a half hour.

*Health conscience moms... one tostada shell has only 10g of Carbs so feel free to go a little crazy!