Recipe Background
Frito Pie Sloppy Joes: A playful dish perfect for nostalgic celebrations.
The first day of high school holds vivid memories for many, but mine is uniquely tied to the kitchen. I'd just turned 14, and to mark the milestone, my mom suggested we cook something special to celebrate. At the time, my culinary skills were modest, mostly centered around making breakfast toast look like gourmet art. That day, she pulled out a recipe for Frito Pie Sloppy Joes. I remember the aroma of ground beef sizzling with onions and garlic, the air rich with ancho and chipotle chili powders. Spices and I hadn't yet become good friends, but that changed as soon as I sprinkled cumin and smoked paprika into the mix, a blend I’ve stuck with ever since for an extra kick.
Cooking alongside mom felt like a rite of passage. As the beef simmered, we added diced tomatoes and kidney beans, watching them join forces in a pan that was slightly too small for our enthusiasm. Her whispered tip still resonates: 'Let it simmer longer for those spices to truly dance.' Mom's Frito Pie Sloppy Joes became our celebratory dish, sealing that first day of high school with savory goodness topped with crunchy corn chips and cheddar cheese oozing across everything. We seasoned it to perfection, after, of course, a bit of a misplaced salt shaker incident that only seasoned the apple of my eye—my shoes.
Whenever I make Frito Pie Sloppy Joes today, I'm back in that kitchen, armfuls of hamburger buns, my heart ready for whatever the day might bring. I’ve since learned to be patient, letting the mixture meld beautifully over time, stirring in memories and a splash of Worcestershire sauce—for depth, mom announced with knowing certainty.
Ingredients
For the chili:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 2 (14.5 ounce) cans red kidney beans can substitute black beans or pinto beans
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
For the sloppy Joes:
- 2 cups corn chips
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 8 hamburger buns split
Directions
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the ground beef and the onions and cook, while crumbling the meat, until the beef is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes.
- Drain the excess grease from the skillet.
- Add the garlic, the ancho chili powder, the chipotle chili powder, the cumin, and the paprika to the beef mixture and cook, while stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes and their juices, the beans and their juices, the oregano, and the Worcestershire sauce to the beef mixture and stir to combine.
- Bring the beef mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Season the beef mixture with the salt and the pepper.
- Cover the saucepan and simmer until it has thickened and the flavors have melded together, at least 10 minutes and up to 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a 9x13-inch baking pan, add the beef mixture.
- Sprinkle the corn chips and the cheese on top of the beef mixture.
- Bake until the cheese has melted, about 2-5 minutes.
- Transfer the baking pan from the oven.
- Evenly add the beef mixture to each of the buns.
- Serve.
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