22 Feb Vegetarian Chalupas (Open Faced Tacos)

Tacos are a weekly meal in our in our house. Okay, twice or thrice weekly if want to know the truth. These open-faced tacos, or chalupas, are fast, healthy and simple. Oh, and delicious. Just the way I like it.

True story.  I’m in the checkout line at the grocery store on Tuesday at 5:00 pm.

“Tacos for dinner?” the checker asked. 

“Yup”

“I never knew Taco Tuesday as a ‘thing’ until I started working on Tuesday nights”, she said. 

According to Wikipedia: 

Taco Tuesday is a custom in many US cities of going out to eat tacos on Tuesday nights. Restaurants will often offer special prices, for example, “$1 fish tacos every Tuesday night”. It is popular in many big cities across the nation and especially popular in the beach cities of Southern California. Taco Tuesday is similar to Happy Hour in that restaurants vary in their participation, hours, and specials offered.

Legally, “Taco Tuesday” is a trademark of Taco John’s and other restaurants are prohibited from using that term.

Taco Tuesday is indeed a real thing.

But at my house, tacos are acceptable any day of the week and any meal of the day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack–it doesn’t matter. Give me a corn or flour tortilla and some goodies to go inside and it’s a healthy meal ready in less than 5 minutes. This chalupa, or open-faced taco, is one of my go-to’s. Feel free to use regular taco shells, flour tortillas or even tortilla chips for this easy recipe. Any leftover sauteed, roasted or grilled veggies work well in place of the onions and mushrooms. Throw on sour cream or Greek yogurt. Jalapenos. Black olives. It’s a flexible recipe–you get the idea. 

Vegetarian Chalupas

Ingredients:

2 corn tortillas

1/2 cup fat-free refried beans, heated through

1/2 avocado, smashed

1/4 fresh lime wedge

1/4 onion 

1 cup mushrooms

2 t cumin

Nonstick cooking spray

salt and pepper to taste

shredded cheese (optional)

red or green salsa, (optional)

cilantro (optional)

Instructions:

1. Spray non-stick cooking spray in a small saute pan. Over low heat, cook the onion and mushrooms until caramelized. (20 minutes). Add salt, pepper, and cumin to taste.
2. While veggies are cooking, toast 2 corn tortillas until they are no longer flexible.  Once toasted, remove from toaster and spread 1/4 cup of the beans over the tortilla. Layer the onions and mushrooms next and top with a layer of smashed avocado.
3. Add additional layers of cheese, salsa, and cilantro (if using) on top of the avocado.
4. Squeeze lime juice over the top of the tortillas just prior to serving.