I’ve always enjoyed cooking, in fact, I can remember the very first real meal I ever made-Cheese enchiladas. My I had watched my grandma make them and it seemed like a really easy meal to start with. Right then and there I knew I would enjoy cooking. My first thoughts as I sat there and ate were “With a little effort and time, I can decide what I eat. I can also determine what it tastes like. And I can save money and it’s healthier for me.”

I still love to cook. However, I never cooked as much as when my kids were growing up (they’re both adults now). We were a very busy family. Both my husband and I worked at least full time every week, we were (and still are) active in church ministries, our kids were in sports and extracurriculars and of course, I had my household to run. I had a system and routine when it came to cooking. It included about 3 or 4 home cooked meals, leftovers from those meals and one night of takeout or going through a drive-thru after late game nights. Eating out at restaurants was always a treat, and it is to this day.

I of course, had my staple meals in rotation along different never-before served meals. But of everything, there is one meal that still brings everyone in-no matter how busy they are. All I have to do is text my son. He doesn’t live at home anymore, but he’ll find a way to be there.

The first time I ever made them, I was newly married. I was in the mood to make something really special, and tostadas were for special occasions in my family. They literally took me all day to make and by the time they were ready, I was so exhausted and hungry, I literally had to sit down and drink water to prevent from passing out. Looking back, they were more work than my first ever Thanksgiving dinner. I wonder why I thought it was so much work because today, aside from the meat cooking in the crockpot or instant pot, the toppings come together in less than a half hour.

This is the order I make everything in: I cook the beans at least a day before I’m to serve tostadas. Dry pinto beans with a ham hock, minced garlic and added salt to taste before serving. My daughter especially loves my beans and will have bean tostadas with cotija cheese or queso fresco for days on end.

The day I serve the tostadas; I cook a chuck roast in either the Crockpot or Instant Pot (I prefer the Crockpot) with minced garlic, sliced onions, a few slices of tomato, a few green chilis and Chef Merito’s Steak and Meat Seasoning. If I had to make this meal without that seasoning, I t would be a completely different mean. That seasoning is really good, and I don’t let myself run out of it. For the toppings, it’s cotija cheese or queso fresco, red onions, radishes, black olives and Ranch and sour cream mixture. We have to use the powdered Ranch packet. It really gives the tostadas a kick.

I didn’t come up with this myself. While at a baby shower the same year I met my husband, I observed her family. They were preparing the toppings for the main course—tostadas. I had never seen that done and when I bit into that tostada, I knew I had to try that exact recipe. You may be thinking it doesn’t seem possible for the flavor of Ranch to taste good on a tostada. However, it really does. And I always also serve Spanish rice on the side because everyone except me puts it on top of the tostada like a topping as well. They always want to know where the rice is. Sometimes I have to make a second cup the next day.

There is something about watching my family really enjoy a meal that I’ve made. A meal they will never get tired of. Another person can exactly duplicate this meal for them. Or they can make it themselves. I am totally all for that. Because it’s not about making the tostadas at all. It’s about Mom making something familiar, something loved and something that brings everyone back to the table. And I’m grateful to be capable of giving that to my family.