Today’s recipe has many different names, all depending on who you ask. My Mother-in-law grew up in Mexico and she gave me her recipe for chalupa. Let me describe it for you. Chalupa is ground beef and pinto beans in a red sauce served over corn chips with your favorite taco fixings. I sometimes call it Mexican Chili or Chili Beans since people often think of the Taco Bell creation when I say chalupa. Finally, if you use the individual sized packs of corn chips, I’ve heard people call them walking tacos. You can construct your meal right in the bag and take your meal to go! No matter what you call it, it’s tasty!

Chalupa or Mexican Chili 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground meat (beef or turkey)
• 6 cups cooked pinto beans with liquid (3- 15 ounce cans)
• 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp red chili powder
• 1 Tbsp Taco seasoning
• Corn Chips
• Taco Fixings: Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese, Sour Cream, Salsa, Guacamole, etc

Directions:

1. In an electric skillet or large stock pot, brown the ground meat until it is no longer pink. Drain any grease. 
2. Add the beans, tomato sauce, water, sugar, and seasoning. Stir to mix all the ingredients.
3. Simmer the chalupa covered  for 1 hour. It should thicken up a little bit but you still want plenty of moisture in your sauce. 
4. Serve over a bed of corn chips. Add any taco fixings you like. 

This is a great meal to serve at a party or when you are needing to serve a crowd. Everyone can add their own toppings, and it makes a lot of food!