Try this Aunt Sandys Frito Pie recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 37.7376966535088 g
- Cholesterol 91.15805145 mg
- Fat 47.3640234550439 g
- Fiber 4.68690277489722 g
- Protein 15.4695615048925 g
- Saturated Fat 16.956952617718 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (255g)
- Sodium 802.059808025 mg
- Sugar 33.0507938786116 g
- Trans Fat 23.3422841883384 g
- Calories 660 calories
Step-by-step
- Brown the ground beef in a skillet, Add the green enchilada, black olives and mushrooms to the ground beef and simmer until the sauce is bubbly.
- Crush the Frito's into small pieces and layer half of the bag at the bottom of a pan (I used a glass pan) Pour the meat mixture on top of the layer of chips.
- Spread the rest of the chips on top of the meat mixture and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake the pie in the oven on 400 degrees until cheese is melted.
- Cut the "pie" into 8 squares and place a dollup of sour cream on top of each square. Enjoy!
Ingredient labels list what goes into the baking dish, but they omit how moisture migration alters texture over time. Corn chips possess a high starch content and a porous structure designed to shatter under tooth pressure. Introducing a liquid enchilada sauce immediately initiates softening. Controlling this textural shift requires timing the assembly precisely before the oven phase. Waiting too long turns the bottom layer into paste.
Using canned elements like sliced mushrooms and black olives introduces pre-cooked convenience alongside heavy sodium preservation liquids. Draining these components prevents excess water from pooling in the glass baking dish during the forty-hundred degree oven phase. Fresh mushrooms release interior moisture when heated, whereas canned varieties remain static. Swapping canned produce for fresh requires an initial sauté step to drive off water before mixing into the beef.
Sequencing kitchen tasks determines whether the dish succeeds structurally. Brown the ground beef first, then simmer it with the sauce until bubbles break the surface. While the meat reduces, crush the corn chips and distribute exactly half across the glass pan floor. Layering requires speed to prevent the hot sauce from prematurely dissolving the base crunch. Pouring the simmering meat mixture directly over the lower chip layer locks in structural integrity.
Baking at 400 degrees Fahrenheit accelerates cheese melting without overcooking the underlying meat. Watch for the edges of the Mexican blend cheese to bubble and turn golden brown. Pull the glass pan immediately once this visual cue appears to prevent the upper chip layer from scorching. Portioning the baked casserole into eight exact squares requires a sharp spatula to cut through the softened corn layer cleanly.
