Peggy Hill's Frito Pie

I am slightly obsessed with the animated television series King of the Hill, where Peggy Hill makes frito pie on a frequent basis and brags regularly about the quality of her frito pie recipe. I had never had frito pie, nor did I even really know what it was, other than the fact that it had fritos in it, which I'd assumed based on the name. Over New Year's I went up to my friend Kate's family's house up in Lake Tahoe. I was chatting with Kate's mom, Katy, while we were all at the grocery store and I happened to mention frito pie. Katy, being a native Texan, decided that we would make frito pie for dinner. So we ran around the Walmart collecting the ingredients and when we got home Katy made frito pie for everybody and it was AMAZING. It's basically really good chili, poured into a bowl, topped with shredded cheese and fritos, and stirred together until it's a hot, cheesy, frito-y mess. It was freezing outside, which made the piping hot frito pie that much more of a pleasure to eat. I will never forget that bowl of frito pie, nor will I forget what a great time we all had that weekend, (I even learned to ski! And I only fell twice!), and so I decided to write a post about frito pie to commemorate it's awesomeness. I'd imagine that this is what Peggy Hill's version would taste like, lots of savory ground beef with some veggies snuck in for nutritional value. I hope you all like it as much as I did!

Click Here For Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 lbs Ground Beef

6 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 Carrot, peeled and sliced

1 Jalepeno, diced

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

1/2 of a Large Onion, or 1 Small Onion, diced

1 Bag Fritos

(1) 29 oz Can Tomato Puree

5 and 1/3 Cups Water

1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Pepper

1/2 Teaspoon Cumin

1/2 Teaspoon Chili Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

In a large stockpot, brown the ground beef in the olive oil over medium high heat for 5 minutes. Then add the onion, salt and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep any from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Add the carrot, garlic and the bell pepper and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Then add the tomato puree, water, jalepeno, cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper and stir until well blended. Lower the heat to a simmer and allow the mixture to boil for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, scoop out about 1/2 cup of the broth and place it in a small bowl. Using a whisk or a fork, add the flour and blend quickly until a smooth paste is formed. Add the paste back into the chili and stir until well blended. Allow the mixture to cook for another 10 minutes.

Using a ladle, fill a bowl with about 1 cup of the chili. Sprinkle your desired amount of shredded cheese on top of the chili, then place about 1/3 cup of fritos on top of the cheese. Stir the mixture together, and enjoy!