Chalupas -- The Layered Cooking Cole's Dinner Table Deserved

Cole shod his first full string independently this week — four horses at the Yamamoto place, including Tuesday the opinionated mule. He handled Tuesday better than I expected for five weeks in. There's a way of managing a strong-willed animal that comes from reading the body and adjusting before the animal has to tell you something's wrong, and Cole has some natural instinct for that. The mule is not a good teacher for the weak of nerve. She didn't give him much trouble, which I'll attribute partly to his approach and partly to Tuesday having a good day. Mules have good days and bad days the same as everyone.

He came to dinner Sunday with his girlfriend Emma, a nurse from Billings who is working at the hospital in Livingston. She asked me a lot of questions about the therapeutic work, which she connected to her own work with patients recovering from injury — the same principle of correcting slowly over many sessions, not rushing the structural change, respecting the timeline the body sets. I said it was the same. She said it was satisfying when the improvement was visible. I said it was. Good people, both of them. The right energy for January.

Made enchiladas using the fresh tortillas from last week's batch — more of them this time, enough for the dinner. Red chile sauce made from the dried anchos I'd ground in October. I'd been looking forward to this since I made the first batch of tortillas: homemade sauce wrapped in homemade tortillas, the kind of cooking where you control every layer and can taste your own decisions all the way down. It was the best version I've made.

The enchiladas that Sunday dinner got me thinking about what it means to build a dish from the ground up — sauce, tortilla, filling, all of it yours. Chalupas carry that same principle: a crispy base you control, toppings you choose, flavor that traces back to every decision you made. If you’ve got good tortillas and a little time, this is the natural next move.

Chalupas

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 lb pork shoulder or boneless pork roast, trimmed
• 1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 small corn tortillas (6-inch)
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 avocado, sliced or diced
• Hot sauce or salsa, for serving

Instructions

1. Cook the pork. Place the pork in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 25—30 minutes until cooked through and tender. Remove, let cool slightly, then shred with two forks.
2. Season the filling. In a skillet over medium heat, combine the shredded pork, pinto beans, green chiles, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Stir well and cook 5 minutes until heated through and fragrant. Remove from heat.
3. Fry the tortillas. Pour about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil into a heavy skillet and heat over medium-high until shimmering. Fry each tortilla 1—2 minutes per side until golden and crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle lightly with salt.
4. Layer the chalupas. Place each fried tortilla on a serving plate. Spoon a generous portion of the pork and bean mixture onto each shell. Top with shredded cheese, allowing residual heat to soften it slightly.
5. Add fresh toppings. Finish with shredded lettuce, diced tomato, avocado, and a dollop of sour cream. Serve immediately with hot sauce or salsa on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 26g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 31g | Fiber: 6g | Sodium: 620mg