Is it seriously June 2nd already?!? I swear, this year is flying by! In less than 30 days, 2013 will be halfway over. Am I the only person who is a bit baffled by this? Let’s hope that time starts to slow down a bit during these next couple of months because I am so not ready for Summer to be over in a flash.
Despite my love for Summertime, I will be excited when the Fall and Winter months roll around again and one of my favorite produce items will be “in season” and not quite so pricey. Lord knows that I am a major lover of all kinds of squash! But despite the higher prices during the Summer months, I still tend to splurge a bit and buy it, which is exactly what I did when I created this unique and Mexican-inspired dish using a super creative tostada shell recipe and one of my favorite “Winter” vegetables: butternut squash.
When I first saw Melanie’s recipe for zucchini and carrot tostadas, I immediately bookmarked it. It reminded me a bit of the concept of a cauliflower pizza crust (which I love!), so I was beyond eager to try it. Plus, I love carrots and zucchini so I knew that I was bound to enjoy it. Instead of following Melanie’s recipe and serving my tostada shells with refried beans (though I have since tried this and it is SO good), I decided to make a delicious and different butternut squash topping. Boy, am I glad that I did. I am truly excited about sharing this recipe with you…it was THAT good! 😉
Butternut Squash Tostadas with Zucchini and Carrot Tostada Shells
Servings: Makes 2 large tostadas (I ate both in one sitting!)
Ingredients
For the Tostada Shells (slightly adapted from Melanie’s recipe):
olive oil cooking spray
2 cups of shredded zucchini and carrots (I used 1 large carrot and 1 medium zucchini), squeezed dry using paper towels to remove excess liquid
1 egg, beaten
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp onion powder
black pepper, to taste
fine sea salt, to taste
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
For the Butternut Squash Toppings:
olive oil cooking spray
3/4 cup diced butternut squash*
fine sea salt, a few sprinkles
black pepper, a few sprinkles
garlic powder, a few sprinkles
onion powder, a few sprinkles
water, for cooking
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/4 tsp sriracha sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder
sea salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
Romaine lettuce, chopped
tomatoes, diced
salsa
cilantro
1/2 avocado, chopped
*I actually purchased my butternut squash pre-cut from Walmart, of all places:
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Place butternut squash (I actually roasted the entire bag at once) onto the baking sheet. Spray the butternut squash with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Roast the squash for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
2. Once the butternut squash has been roasted, lower the oven heat to 350 degrees F.
3. Combine all of the tostada ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until well-combined. Divide the mixture in half. Place each half of the mixture onto an olive oil sprayed, foil-lined baking sheeting. Using a spatula, spread the tostada mixture out into the shape of tostada shells that are about 1/4 inch thick. Bake the tostada shells for approximately 15 minutes, flip carefully, and bake an additional 5 minutes.
4. Broil the tostadas on low for approximately 3 minutes, or until each side becomes golden brown and crispy.
5. While the tostada shells are baking, line a medium skillet with a thin layer of water. Heat the water over medium-high heat until very hot. Once hot, lower the head to medium and add garlic, red peppers, and red onions to the pan. Cook for approximately 6 to 8 minutes, or until softened. Add additional water, as necessary.
6. Lower the heat to medium-low and stir in roasted squash, sriracha sauce, and seasonings. Cook for approximately 3 to 5 minutes, or until all of the ingredients are warm.
7. Compile your tostadas in the following order: one tostada shell, Romaine lettuce, butternut squash mixture, tomatoes, avocado slices, salsa, and cilantro.
I garnished my tostadas with a side of Romaine lettuce and tomatoes, mostly just to make the plate look pretty, of course! 😉
Just look at all of that color, and therefore, a huge variety of vitamins and nutrients! I don’t know about you, but I most definitely eat with my mouth AND my eyes. And trust me, this is absolutely one of those dishes that tastes just as good (if not better!) than it looks. I generally always love most of the recipes that I share on my blog, otherwise I would not post them. But this recipe…wow! I LOVED this one! This is an absolute must-make!
And last, but certainly not least,…. a big thanks to Melanie for the awesome inspiration!
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Ooh, I must try this! Looks fabulous!
Thank you!! Please let me know if you do! 🙂
Oooh girl this looks like something I’d eat up in a heart beat! Vegetarian, MEXICANish and full of colors – now that’s my kinda meal 🙂 I’m going to have to try this stat!
Thank you! Please let me know what you think! 🙂
I love how different this recipe is 🙂 Thanks for sharing 🙂
Yes, very different…,but VERY good!
Oh this looks SO good! I love how the shell is made of veggies – so creative! Going on my to-make list for sure (with many of your other recipes 🙂 )
Thank you! Please let me know what you think :).
I would have never thought to make a shell out of veggies- such a cool idea!
Isn’t it? You can never have too many vegetables, right? 😉
how did you know that tostadas are our favorite?!! wow, good recipe! and yes, let’s slooooooooooow summer down.
Because EVERYONE should love tostadas!! 😉
This looks delicious! I am a big fan of cauliflower pizza crust, so I will be trying 🙂
I hope you love it as much as I do!
Wow! This looks amazing. I love the idea of the tostadas.
It looks AND tastes amazing!
This sounds so good! I love winter squash and could eat it year round. As much as I wish there were a lot of cheap winter squashes, I’m loving the fresh berries and melons.
I SO agree. The cantaloupes and berries have been fabulous lately!
This looks delicious! Fall items are my favorite too 🙂
I’m already in the mood for some pumpkin ;).
Yum! That looks so fresh and perfect for summertime! I love when dishes have a lot of color
Me too! The more color the better!
I can NOT believe how fast this year is going either!! It’s almost scary! This looks so yummy and great for the warmer weather
Yes, let’s slow time down just a bit!!
Love the idea of this tostada!! So delicious and fresh!!
I am definitely loving it. I am already thinking about when to make it again!
That looks so intriguing! I would never have thought to use those ingredients like that. I’ll have to keep this recipe in mind 🙂
Please let me know if you give it a try!
I definitely will girlie 🙂
You’re right! All the colors make the meal look so pretty! Great mix of ingredients–all thing I love.
Everything is better with some avocado, right?? 😉
This post literally couldn’t of come at the more perfect time. Were having tostada’s tonight, and I was trying to find a good tostada crust to use. 🙂
Haha, awesome!! Let me know how yours turn out!
I made the tostada shells last night, however I didn’t have any zucchini, so mine only consisted of grated carrots. Loved it though!
I love that you made homemade tostado shells for this! Sounds amazing.
I was definitely loving the shells!
Ok wow.. this looks freaking awesome. I can’t wait to try it 🙂
Thank you! Let me know how you like it!
I like the sound of those tostada shells. Very creative!
They are SO good!! Definitely a must try!
Holy mackerel, these tostadas are amazing! Super healthy and full of awesome ingredients. I’m dumbfounded by how quickly the year is moving along too. I think the older I get, the faster time flies by.
They really are amazing! You must try them :). And yes, the older that I am the faster that time goes by!
those tostada shells are so creative!! love it 🙂
They are a must make!
This looks so incredibly good, I can’t wait to try it!
Please let me know if you do!
I absolutely love butternut squash and the recipe for the tostada shells looks so creative!
Butternut squash is amazing, especially roasted!!
New to your blog, but I’m a vegetarian and as soon as I saw this post I said, “um, yes” and clicked on your page so I could pin the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome!! I hope you find some recipes here that you like :).
I eat Mexican food almost everyday and this recipe is still appealing to me! I love it! Now to get my boyfriend to want to try it… Hehe
Haha, those boys are such pains! 😉
These look incredible! I’ve never seen tostadas like this, and now I’m dying to try it!!
Please let me know if you give them a try!
So many colors, and it looks so summery! Thanks for sharing about the pre-cut squash. It is tough to cut sometimes! Plus it’s a great time-saver. Looks like another winner of a recipe 😉
The pre-cut squash is SUCH a time-saver!! I love it!
Your tostadas look fabulous!! I saw that post Melanie did before and agree that they looked great. I love your take on them though, so creative. And I can’t get enough butternut squash either. Winter will be here before you know it! 😉
Thank you!! And yes, it will be here before we know it…scary!! 😉
Ya, those tostadas look heavenly! Yum! I have butternut squash sitting at home and I have yet to figure out what to do with it…hmmm
Well, I think that you should make these with that butternut squash of yours! 😉
I know…I can’t believe how fast this year is going! It’s kinda scary actually! The tostadas look deeeelicious! I’m a huge fan of butternut squash!
It really is!! Pretty soon it’ll be the holiday season. Crazy to think about!
Oh man does that sound delicious! And wow when you said 2013 is almost halfway over I’m not going to lie I panicked a little bit!
From Alyssa @ Road to RD!
Haha, it is a scary thought, right?? 😉
ALWAYS a fan of tostadas! what an amazing twist!
Tostadas and Mexican food never get old!!
this is such a great idea for tostadas yum yum yum. I am with you about time flying by so fast – god!!!
Let me know if you give them a try…which you should! 😉
You are SO very welcome! These look awesome!
They were SO good! I absolutely loved them :).
Ooh looks delicious! I have never made tostadas – I definitely have to give them a try.
Yes, you really should!!
I’m obsessed with your recipe. I love all the colors from the veggies! Yum!!
Aww, thank you! Let me know if you try them :).
just bookmarked this recipe .. definitely need to try it!
Yes, you do! Please let me know what you think :).
That is so colorful! It looks delicious!
I was definitely loving the colors. I honestly think that bright colors make food taste even better! 😉
This one is a must try! Look at all the colors- so fresh!
Please let me know if you give it a try!
I’m all over that tostada shell! Bonus points cuz it’s packed with veggies 🙂
The more veggies the better, right? 😉
Mmmmm I feel ya on the squash! I actually am not a huge fan of summer either haha, so I really miss squash season! This looks so tasty too. Oh and we’re almost halfway done with 2013?!?!>!! I did not even put that together! Omg. That is literally insane!
Squash is simply amazing. I just roasted my first kobucha squash last night and it is SO good!
I hadn’t thought about the year being almost halfway over either, it’s crazy when you think of it that way! I’ve never had tostadas before but this version sounds so delicious and I love how many veggies are in it!
You have never had tostadas?? Wow, you MUST try them!
Butternut squash ANYTHING is a surefire win…am i right or am i right 😉
You are SO right :).
This is by far the most creative and delicious-looking recipe I’ve seen over the past few weeks! I LOVE the idea of creating a tostada shell out of carrots and zucchini, and I’m especially happy because they’re two veggies that don’t upset my tummy. Win-win! I bet these would be good with a little cheese thrown into the mix, too!
I eat butternut squash, pumpkin, and almost every other winter squash all year long, too. They’re just too delicious to pass up – regardless of the heft price tag!
Hope you had a wonderful Monday, Hannah! <3
Thank you!! I hope you give them a try! And yes, squash is amazing all year round. I just roasted my first kobucha squash last night and I am LOVING it!
This is my kind if meal! Lick. The. Plate. Clean.! Yum!
Thank you!! Let me know if you give it a try! 🙂
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