Southwest Frito Pie

I was searching through my Taste of Home magazine trying to come up with something quick and easy to make for dinner.  To be honest, I was a bit out of ingredients in my house but was too lazy to go shopping.  When I came across the recipe for the Southwest Frito Pie, the picture alone enticed me.  I changed it up a bit and it was a pretty good dish.  I wish I would have had some fresh tomato and avocado, but there's always another day!  The original recipe called for only one can of beans but I wanted it to be more substantial so used two cans of beans.

Southwest Frito Pie

adapted from a recipe of Janet Scoggins, Taste of Home magazine

2 pounds extra lean ground beef  

1/2 onion, diced 

3 Tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoons all purpose flour  

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups water

1 can (15 ounce) pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained

Frito brand corn chips

Optional Toppings:

2 cups lettuce, chopped

1 1/2 cups  shredded Mexican cheese mix

1 can diced tomatoes with chili peppers

Sour cream

fresh minced cilantro

Directions:

In a large skillet, or dutch oven, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat until no longer pink: drain off grease if you have an excess of grease. I didn't need to drain off anything because I used extra lean ground beef.

Stir in the chili powder, flour,cumin, salt and garlic powder until blended: gradually stir in water.

Add the beans and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat: simmer, uncovered for 12-15 minutes or until thickened (may need to add a bit more flour to get the consistency you like), stirring occasionally.

To serve, place chips inside bowls, top with been mixture and desired toppings.

Serves 6

I put the chips on the bottom and around the sides