Frito Chili Pie

It's late here and, while I have been rehearsing in my head my post on "white trash food" and this title would seem to be heralding such a post, it's just going to be a short ode to Frito Chili Pie.

Now, I'm not going to engage in the constant, endless debate on what constitutes chili. I'll say, to borrow a phrase, that I know what I like. And most Texans would say what I like ain't chili. I like ground meat, not stew meat. I like it with tomatoes. I like, gasp, beans in my chili. I don't care for veggies in it, or mole. I will eat it over lots of things--crunched up saltine crackers with shredded cheddar cheese is a family tradition; over rice with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese was called jambalaya for 12 years of public school. I have never had it over spaghetti like in Cincinnati but I'm game to try it. But the way I like best is over Fritos.

It amazes me that Frito Chili pie hasn't caught on everywhere--my mommy friends up here had never heard of it when I served it at a playgroup and kept needing instructions on what to do with the Fritos. And I didn't even serve it the traditional way, which is actually a ladleful of chili poured over the opened small pouch of Fritos. We had it at school, football games, fairgrounds, you name it. But those mommies loved it and I even got talked into hosting a second Frito Chili Pie Playgroup.

It's the ultimate social food for me, a fun food, a fall and winter food. So even though it's been summer up here in the Northeast, I made a batch of chili this week. This is cheater's chili--it only takes a bit to throw together and relies on, please don't tell a soul, a packaged mix and canned beans. But as I've confessed, I'm no Wick Fowler purist. I think I like the kind of chili we used to get at school. Over Fritos. And this is the closest I can get to it.

I will say, it was a disappointment to me that DD and DS did not see the beauty of the dish, especially because they love Fritos (can I tell you how excited I was when I found an easy-to- locate snack food they can eat?) and ground turkey. They wouldn't even try it, DD because of the beans, DS because of DD.

I'm hoping they'll come around.

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My Playgroup Frito Chili Pie

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can Ranch style beans (there will be an homage to these later. I literally "import" them from Houston everytime my folks come up. It's the one thing I just cannot find up here, now that the stores have Pace Picante sauce and Rotel tomatoes. If only Blue Bell ice cream travelled as well.)
1 can light kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 packet McCormick chili mix
14 oz can diced tomatoes
Fritos
shredded cheddar cheese

Brown the ground meat, draining fat. Brown onions. Add all the beans plus the packet of chili mix and tomatoes to meat and onions. Add water if necessary (I like my chili soupy, so the Fritos can absorb some). Simmer. Serve with lots of Fritos and cheese.