A kitchen full of mini-chefs with freshly washed hands and faces beaming with concentration began to butter the tortillas for these chalupas, my mother Charlotte’s recipe to which I have made a few minor adjustments.  They were nearly all happy to see the beans, and they were all happy to see the rice as we put everything together inside the buttery, warm tortillas.

One little girl, a new student but an old friend, squatted shoveling the rice and beans into her mouth.  She had been so quiet during the actual making of the chalupas.  She worked steadily but very seriously, and I had been wondering whether she was enjoying herself or not.  Now, she clearly was.  Her plate filled, emptied, filled again, and emptied almost completely for a second time.

“I’ve never seen her eat this much in one sitting,” her mom commented.  Music to a chef’s (and teacher’s) ears.

Another little chef from my tiny class had claimed that he did not like the chalupas when he was trying them in front of us.  He is a very thoughtful sort of kid.  He says no to everything first to be able to have the opportunity and the time to decide what he really thinks instead of just jumping in whole hog from the start.  The next day, I received an email from his mom saying that he loved trying them at home and was even doing “the chalupa dance”.  I live for the day when that dance, or one like it, makes it to class.

Please don’t let the fact that this recipe stretches over two posts scare you into thinking  that it is complicated.  Let me reassure you that it really is not.  If you’ll notice, most of the Healthy Refried Beans recipe involves setting something up to soak or cook on its own.  The components are simple to make up in bulk, with a bit of forethought, and the chalupas, whether broken down into their components or fully assembled, freeze well and can be reheated for lunches or dinners in the middle of a chaotic week.

Charlotte’s Chalupas

For the Spanish Rice:

• 4 c. cooked rice
• 2 sweet white onions or yellow onions, shredded
• 2 c. tomatoes, seeded and chopped with the cores discarded
• optional: 1 bell yellow, red, or orange bell pepper
• optional: 1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds discarded and finely minced
• 3 T. olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat.
2. Add the onion, and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft and golden.
3. Add the tomato and the various peppers if you are using them.
4. Cook until the liquid from the tomato has been absorbed completely.  Set aside.

The Chalupas:

• 4 c. cooked rice
• 5-6 c. refritos
• 2 c. shredded Monterey Jack, Cheddar, or mix of the two
• 16 small corn tortillas
• 1/2 c. of unsalted butter, room temperature

1. With your mini-chef, butter both sides of the tortillas with the back of a spoon.  Show them how to use a little butter to cover the entire circle (as best they can).
2. Heat a skillet on medium.  Quickly warm the tortillas on both sides.
3. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
4. Have your mini-chef line two 9×11 baking dishes with parchment paper.
5. Assemble: In the middle of each tortilla, place a little beans and a little rice, and a large pinch of cheese.  Fold the tortilla in half to make a half circle or half-moon shape.  Place each half-moon into a pan.  They will most likely have to be sort of stacked in order to fit all the chalupas.
6. Place in the oven and warm for 5-10 minutes, till all the chalupas are nice and warm all the way through.
7. Enjoy!