Chalupa Dinner Bowl

So there are days when having D work at at restaurant supply house makes finding ingredients easy.  This would be one of those days.  Kroger didn't sell a bone-in pork loin.  I wasn't even about to check Whole Foods (Kroger's butcher is mind boggling to me...they have the same cuts of meat as the meat department, just not wrapped).

So anyway, D made this. I helped by turning the Crock Pot onto low (yes, I had the difficult part).
We didn't use taco bowls because they were over $6 for 8 bowls.  We used baked chips because we had those for another recipe.

I came home to dinner ready to go. D said the pork shredded easily.  We both picked at the pork in the Crock Pot while preparing our plates.  Basically we had taco salads.  It was delicious.  D said it was restaurant quality.  There are enough leftovers for about 2 weeks...we made burritos with them as well.

Would definitely have again.  Would consider for a sports viewing party...Makes lots (more than 8 servings to us).  Allrecipes.com has a very similar recipe that they say is 16 servings for 474 calories (with burrito wraps instead of taco bowl).

Chalupa Dinner Bowl

This pork-and-bean mixture is versatile. Serve it spooned over cornbread or rolled up burrito style in flour tortillas. Make hearty nachos, quesadillas, or tacos too. It can even be used as a meaty addition to huevos rancheros (fried corn tortillas topped with fried eggs and salsa).

Yield: Makes 8 servings
Cook time:11 Hours
Prep time:30 Minutes
Bake:5 Minutes

Ingredients
1 pound dried pinto beans

1 (3 1/2-pound) bone-in pork loin roast
2 (4-ounce) cans chopped green chiles
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (32-ounce) box chicken broth
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles with lime juice and cilantro
8 taco salad shells
1 small head iceberg lettuce, shredded

Toppings: shredded Monterey Jack cheese, pickled jalapeño slices, halved grape tomatoes, sour cream, chopped avocado

Preparation
Rinse and sort beans according to package directions.

Place pinto beans in a 6-quart slow cooker; add roast and next 6 ingredients. Pour chicken broth evenly over top of roast.

Cover and cook on HIGH 1 hour; reduce to LOW, and cook 9 hours. Or, cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours. Remove bones and fat from roast; pull roast into large pieces with two forks. Stir in diced tomatoes and green chiles. Cook, uncovered, on HIGH 1 more hour or until liquid is slightly thickened.

Heat taco salad shells according to package directions; place shredded lettuce evenly into shells. Spoon about 1 cup pork-and-bean mixture into each shell using a slotted spoon. Serve with desired toppings.

Note from Southern Living: For testing purposes only, we used RO*TEL Mexican Festival tomatoes and a Rival Recipe Smart-Pot slow cooker. Times may vary depending on the slow cooker used.

Southern Living OCTOBER 2005