Tasty Tostadas with Cantalope Salsa

No matter how much I like to cook and try new things, there is still nothing nothing to equal my favorite meal growing up, especially when Mom makes it for me.  Tacos, actually these are tostados, are so darn tasty I can hardly stand it.  Honestly, if someone put the finest cut of beef topped with lump crab and cavier in front of me and asked me to choose between it and a taco, I swear I would pick the taco! 

After enjoying ourselves yesterday afternoon and indulging in a pedicure, we decided nothing could possibly taste as good for dinner as a taco and some sweet corn. We simply browned off a pound of fresh ground beef and added a packet of taco seasoning per the instructions along with about 2-3 tablespoons of ketchup.  The ketchup is our "secret" ingredient which makes the beef kind of stick together in thick and rich "junkie" type of sauce.  We prepared the tostado shells according the package directions as well in the toaster oven so as to not heat up the entire kitchen (it was really a scorcher here yesterday). Then, we put together our own miniature fixin's bar of lettuce, tomatoes, onion, avocado, shredded cheese and some home made cantalope salsa.

I have never made catalope salsa and I really do not think I have ever heard of it, though I am certain other's have made it before me.  It came to mind because one of our favorite salads is a combination of summer tomatoes with onion, cantalope and avocado. If it tastes good in the salad, I figured it would taste good in the salsa...and it did.  The cantalope had a very refreshing and clean taste to it and also provided a nice amount of sweetness to balance the chili heat.  In a food processor combine about 1 cup of chopped cantalope with 1 chopped tomato, onion, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, chili pepper and salt and pepper. Pulse until the ingredients are well combined but still chunky.