Again, this is the route I went with creating my chalupas. However you like your tacos, go that route. The trick here, is to get a formed tortilla boat. That is what I taught my son, and after a couple of him, he got a bit intimidated as a bit of hot oil jumped up and tagged his arm. Let’s just say I finished the rest of them, no big deal.

Start by having all of your ingredients prepared. Next, heat a small skillet, adding in the oil. Heat the oil to about 350 degrees. You can test the oil a few ways. One by testing a small part of a tortilla, an oil thermometer, or sometimes the smell or look of it.

Now frying these tortillas will go quick, about a minute per tortilla, and my trick is to take a couple pieces of silverware, or use a piece of silverware along with a pair of tongs, and when you insert the tortilla into the oil, gently bring up both sides, loosely, to form a wide boat shape. Use the tongs to carefully move the tortilla around in the oil until crisp, again, about one minute. Use the tongs, lifting up the tortilla, and let any excess oil drain, then place onto a paper lined plate until you are ready to serve. Repeat with as many chalupas as you would like.

To serve, take a chalupa shell, smother with the black refried beans, top with cotija cheese, the chicken, lettuce, pico de gallo, and shredded cheese. Dig in. I'm not listing how much of what to put it because everyone loads their taco differently. You know what you like, so go in that direction.

These were, in my opinion, way better than any hard shell taco you would by from the store. There was a freshness about everything that had us coming back for more. Let’s just say my oldest took down like four of them, they were that good.