Frito Pie

Frito Pie made with a frito crust, incredible chili filling and topped with mounds of glorious cheddar cheese.

This Fancified Frito Pie is the brainchild of Meagan Micozzi of Scarletta Bakes. I had the pleasure of reviewing her cookbook. I knew this recipe was the one I wanted to share with my readers. The name alone makes me smile. This is not your mother's frito pie, nor is it a frito pie in a bag. It's frito pie all grown up and ready for business. As all grown up pies should be.

Let me start by saying how much I adore Miss Meagan Micozzi. I started reading her blog in the summer of 2011. If I remember correctly we both used Foodbuzz back in the day. Meagan was a foodie rock star. I loved visiting her blog. Her posts would make me laugh and I always came away inspired. It took me some time to start commenting. I tend to be shy with bigger bloggers, just who I am. We started commenting back and forth, and developed a wonderful friendship. We both have the same twisted sense of humour. I love her wit, she always comes up with zingers that make me howl with laughter. I am lucky enough to count Meagan among my friends. She is incredibly generous of spirit and always has a way of making me laugh no matter what is going on in my life. Which if you know me there's some weird stuff going on in my life, endlessly. Meagan has been there making me giggle and keeping me focused on what really matters in life.

*Update as of 2015: Meagan made the decision to stop blogging for personal reasons. I still love and adore her. Her cookbook is still for sale on Amazon, and I still adore her recipes. I also still adore Meagan. I miss having her as a blogging buddy, but I fully understand her decision.*

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5 from 2 votes

Frito Pie

Frito Pie made with a frito crust, incredible chili filling and topped with mounds of glorious cheddar cheese.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Casserole

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Author Cravings of a Lunatic

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 6 cups of corn chips
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• 2 large eggs lightly beaten

For the Chili:

• 2 pounds of ground beef
• 1 x 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes in their juices
• 1 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon ground ancho chile
• 1 and ½ teaspoons ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons masa harina
• 1 x 15-ounce can pinto beans drained
• 1 and ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese plus more for serving (optional)
• pickled jalapenos for serving optional
• chopped fresh tomatoes for serving optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the Crust:

• Place the corn chips in a food processor bowl with a steel blade, and whir it up till the corn chips become a coarse meal texture.
• Remove and transfer to a large bowl, stir in the flour, butter and the eggs. Stir until combined completely.
• Spray a 10 inch fluted tart pan with non-stick spray. Press the mixture into the pan, make sure you spread it up the sides of the pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes.
• Remove and set aside to cool.

For the Chiili:

• Brown the ground beef in a dutch oven over medium heat, make sure to break up the pieces so it's a fine texture. Once the pink is gone you can drain off the additional fats if you like.
• Add the tomatoes, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, ancho chile, white pepper and salt.
• Bring this mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and cover, allow to simmer for about 25 minutes or so.
• Stir in the masa harina and beans, continue to simmer, uncovered this time, for about another 45 to 60 minutes.
• It's done once it's thick, and the smell is fragrant. Your house should smell fabulous at this point.
• Take the chili off the heat and pour it into the prepared crust you set aside earlier. Smooth it out so it's even.
• Top with the cheese, in my mind more is better. I love tons of cheese.
• Pop it in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 to 15 minutes, you want the cheese to get all melty and gooey.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. You can unmold it or serve right out of the pan. It can be messy, don't sweat it if the first piece doesn't come out perfect. It's still freaking amazing frito pie.
• You can now top with optional toppings if you like. Or toss more cheese on top. You can never have enough cheese. Cheese rules the world.
• Serve with a bit old cheesy smile!

Notes

Recipe Source: The New Southwest by Meagan Micozzi of Scarletta Bakes
(recipe can be found on page 162)

You can check out Meagan's cookbook, The New Southwest on Amazon. It's an amazing cookbook. Meagan makes sure to explain Southwest ingredients so you know how to stock your pantry. She gives you important tips to help you learn as you cook. I always appreciate when cookbook authors do that. I don't just want to make the recipe, I want to learn why I'm doing the things it calls for.

Some things you should know about The New Southwest:

• It has more than 80 easy-to-follow recipes!
• There are colour photos for each recipe! (that's a huge bonus for me, I love seeing photos for each recipe)
• There is a detailed guide to stocking your Southwest pantry, great sections on spices, ingredients, chiles and must-have equipment!
• Sidebars full of awesome tips about ingredients and techniques! This is seriously useful, particularly for new cooks
• Fantastic cookbook I use again and again.

If you don't happen to win you can always order Meagan's stunning cookbook, The New Southwest through Amazon. It's totally worth the investment. You can also check your local bookstore to see if they stock this stunner. You will not regret buying this cookbook. It has recipes like Vegan Puffy Tacos with Cumin-Spiced Hummus, Pomegranate and Lime Chicken Thighs, and Peanut Butter and Jelly Empanadas. My personal favourites are this Fancified Frito Pie, Street Style Corn, Grilled Apple Pie and Chipotle-Spiced Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Every single recipe I've tried rocked my socks off!

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I adore and admire Meagan. She gives me hope that my dream can be realized. I am so incredibly proud of her. This book is a stellar cookbook written by a talented cook. I just happen to be one of the lucky ones who can call her a friend.

I'd like to take a quick second to thank Meagan for asking me to write a blurb for the book. I was beyond honoured, and humbled to do so. I also want to thank you for your continued friendship. You are the wind beneath my wings, woman. Anyone who encourages me to embrace my silly side by taking our elf on the shelf into our construction zone for a photo shoot is a true friend. You get me. And that is everything in life.

Giveaway Closed!

Now enough of this sappiness and onto the giveaway. I have the distinct pleasure of being able to give away 1 copy of Meagan's cookbook, The New Southwest to 1 of my very lucky readers. It could be you! Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure Mumbo Jumbo:

Meagan's crew provided me with a copy of her book to review, for free. No moolah exchanged hands so you get honest feedback about the book. I was not paid to do this. I love Meagan so this was my pleasure to do. 

The post contains affiliate links. To be specific it links to my Amazon Affiliate account, so if you purchase the book I get a few gold doubloons. I fully intend to use those gold doubloons to stock up on copious amounts of vanilla bean. It's a sickness, a compulsion really. Send help!

Toodles and smoochies! xx