Fajita Chicken Tostada Stacks

Youth football is already starting.  Trevor had football camp last week and conditioning practice started this week.  He comes home tired and hungry so I let him pick dinner last night.  

We make a homemade version of the Taco Bell Mexican pizza and he asked for something like that.  Instead of ground beef, I used  "fajita style" grilled chicken thighs.  Sure you could just buy a can of enchilada sauce but making it is so much better.

Fajita Chicken Tostada Stacks

by www.nibblemethis.com

Ingredients (serves 4)

You'll need

• 1.5 lbs chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
• tostadas
• refried beans
• shredded colby jack cheese
• sliced black olives
• chopped green onion
• chopped cilantro
• cotija cheese

For the Enchilada Sauce

• 3-4 cloves garlic, very finely minced
• 1 ea chipotle in adobo sauce, seeded and diced
• 2 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp roasted cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dried minced onion
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 3 cups water
• 1 cube chicken bullion
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar

For the Dry Rub

• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic pepper seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp chili powder

For the Baste

• 1/2 cup enchilada sauce
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 Tbsp oil

Instructions

1. Make the enchilada sauce: Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer while stirring occasionally until thickened, about 30 to 45 minutes. Can be made ahead of time and reheated.
2. Make the baste by simply combining the ingredients. Do the same with the dry rub. Season the chicken all over with the dry rub.
3. Preheat a charcoal grill to 350-400f.
4. Grill the thighs until they reach an internal temp of 165f, baste, and finish to 175f. Time wise, that worked out like this:  Grilled 4 minutes, flip and baste.  Grill another 4 minutes, flip and baste.  Grill another 2-3 minutes until baste is cooked on.
5. Remove, rest a few minutes, and then slice very thin.
6. Make the stacks. Top a tostada with a layer of refried beans and cheese. Top with a second tostada and spread some enchilada sauce over it. Add chicken, green onion, cilantro, black olives and more cheese. Drizzle a little more enchilanda sauce (maybe 1 Tbsp) over that. Put on a pizza stone back on the 350f grill until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes.
7. Garnish with more cilantro, green onion, and cotija cheese. I also like to give it one more splash of the enchilada sauce but you can add guacamole or sour cream if you like.

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The rub might seem a little heavy but they are supposed to be heavily seasoned.

It smells so good while grilling!

As you can see, the baste cooks on during the last few minutes.

Slice thinly, or if you like, you can even chop it.

I used refried black beans.

Go easy on the sauce, just a nice thin base like this. 

You could also broil the chicken and make the tostadas in an oven.  If you had to.....I guess ;)  

I wanted to do an appetizer by making mini-versions using those bagged small tostadas on the chip aisle.  Problem is you can't let it sit too long or the enchilada sauce and beans make it slightly soggy.   So I have to work on that idea.

But these were crispy, crunchy, and really hit the spot.  Guess what I am having for leftovers tonight....