Crispy Shell Taco Salad

For the Crispy Tortilla Shells:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put four medium sized oven safe bowls upside down on top of a cookie sheet. Brush the bowls with some of the canola oil and set the bowls aside.

In a skillet that is large enough for a tortilla to lay flat; add enough canola oil so that it’s approximately ½ inch deep in the pan.
Heat the pan on medium heat (not too hot). Lay one tortilla at a time in the warm oil for just a couple seconds…..just long enough so that the tortilla is pliable. Then carefully lift the tortilla from the oil with a pair of tongs and hold it over the pan so that the loose oil will drip back into the pan. Then lay one tortilla over each one of the upside down bowls.

Shape the tortillas around the bowls (if the tortillas are too hot to handle use your tongs to shape them around the bowl being careful not to rip the tortilla).

Bake the tortillas until the outsides of the shell are golden brown (about 10 minutes). Watch them closely so they don’t get too brown, then remove them from the oven. Right after removing them from the oven, carefully remove the tortillas from the bowls. If they are sticking to the bowls try using a dinner knife to gently pry them loose.

After the cooked tortilla shells are removed from the bowls, put them in the oven for about 3 minutes so the insides of the tortilla bowl turn a golden color.

For the Salad:

Add the refried beans to the bottom of each tortilla shell bowl (approximately ¼ of the can in each bowl). Add some salsa and sour cream. Add the lettuce and green cabbage.

Then add the purple cabbage, cucumbers, radishes, cilantro, tomatoes, onions and avocados.

Top with the meat of your choice, cheese, and then more salsa and sour cream if you choose.