Cheese Chalupas

When I first read through this recipe I thought to myself, "Wait a gosh darn minute here. This is a tostada, not a chalupa. When I post it I should make sure to point that out. Wait another gosh darn minute. I should probably look up the difference between a chalupa and a tostada before I go making wild claims that Michelle had something wrong on one of her recipes." So I looked it up on Wikipedia. Turns out I was wrong, and Michelle was right. Well, actually we were both right. Apparently a chalupa is a tostada platter. I had no idea. I guess I never really knew what a chalupa is (thanks, Taco Bell for confusing me with your deep fried concoction). Now I know.

Semantics aside, I think this recipe looks fantastic. It has all of my favorite things about Mexican food, and it's meat free. Now, our little family is far from vegetarian, but it is nice to find some meat-free recipes to use now and then.

This recipe brings up a point I want to share with everyone though. As we get further and further into the recipe box we're coming across quite a few recipes that neither Kyle nor I have any stories to associate with them. They simply look delicious. When this is the case I'll just put in some of my own humor and flavor (see, I'm good a puns) into the post. The whole point of the blog is the recipes anyhow, so I figured no one would mind.

Cheese Chalupas
Serves 4

1 16 ounce can red beans, drained
1 cup cubed cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1 4 ounce can green chiles, rinsed, seeded and halved
1 slice onion
1 tsp ground cumin
8 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 medium avocado, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (2 ounces)

In blender, combine beans, cubed cheese, chiles, onion, cumin, and 1/4 tsp salt. Cover and blend until combined (should be a bit lumpy). Spread 1/4 cup of the bean mixture over each tortilla. Place on a baking sheet and broil 4-5 inches from heat for 4-5 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Remove from oven. Stack two tortillas, bean side up, on each plate. Top with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and cheese.