Membership Matters

Volume 23, Number 12: December 2022

Delicious! Delicioso! Délicieux! Läckert! Köstlich! ???! ??????!

Frito Pie

Submitted by Katherine Pettus
IAHPC Senior Advocacy and Partnerships Director

Frito Pie is a staple of school fundraisers in the US state of New Mexico, where I raised my three boys and lived on and off for more than 20 years. The basic version is made with ground meat—beef, pork, turkey, venison, or a blend—mixed with chile, preferably New Mexico red (powder) or green (roasted and peeled), fried with onions, garlic, and oregano (or not) and then topped with a salad mixture, grated cheese, and raw onions. Vegetarians can replace the meat with beans. 

When made at home, Frito Pie begins with a handful of Fritos corn chips in a single-serving bowl. At Frito Pie concession stands I have worked at, the meal is made and sold in individual Frito bags, which serve as bowls. Our household of growing boys and their friends looked forward to Frito Pie Fridays, serving themselves from a crockpot of chile and party-sized bags of chips at one end of the countertop, with an array of toppings at the other end. The red chile version, below, is more accessible than one made with roasted fresh green chiles. I don’t know if Fritos are sold where you live, but you can use any tortilla chips. When my sister was ill and bedbound in her last years, it was a real treat for us to sit and eat Frito Pie together.

Frito Pie

(Serves 5-6. Add beans to extend the quantity.)

Ingredients 

Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a pan on low. Add and soften 1 chopped onion and garlic, if using. Add the meat and cook until brown. Add the flour to make a roux (paste). 
  2. When the oil has absorbed the flour (don’t let it burn!) stir in the chile powder until the consistency is smooth. 
  3. Gradually add water or stock to the roux until it thickens, then bring it to a slow simmer, making sure to get the lumps out of the flour and chile powder as they mix with the liquid. 
  4. Add the beans, if using. Simmer the mixture gently for 10-15 minutes, adding pinches of oregano and seasoning to taste. I then put it all in a crockpot to keep warm and be available throughout the day for all comers. 
  5. To serve: Put a handful of Fritos in a single-serving bowl, ladle on a scoop of chile, top with lettuce, tomato, cilantro, raw onions, grated cheese, and enjoy! Savor the variety of textures and flavors that sneaks in all the food groups. 

Cook’s note: Frito Pie can also be made as a baked casserole. The variations are infinite!


List of Members

A list of individuals who joined, or renewed their membership with, IAHPC during the past month.

Membership renewals
Name Country
Lorena Patricia Etcheverry Argentina
Ramoncito Yacab Belize
Zemilson Batos Brandão Souza Brazil
Gregorio Zuniga Villanueva Canada
Kevin Bezanson Canada
Alicia Krikorian Colombia
Bilena Molina Colombia
Diana Catalina Velilla Echeverri Colombia
Omar Gomezese Colombia
Paola Marcela Ruiz Ospina Colombia
Julio Rojas Costa Rica
Maria Brenes Costa Rica
Maria Cristina Cervantes Velez Ecuador
Alexander Armando Arita Alfaro El Salvador
Cecilia Elizabeth Menjivar Deras El Salvador
Jose Mario Lopez Saca El Salvador
Myriam Rios Fundación Ammar Ayudando Guatemala
Chitra Venkateswaran India
Latha Sneha India
Priti Sanghavi India
Shiv Pratap Singh Rana India
Batsheva Ziff-Werman Israel
Esther Nafula Wekesa Kenya
Yoke Ling Choo Malaysia
Bernardo Villa Mexico
Elena Espin Paredes Mexico
Guillermo Arechiga Mexico
Jorge Alberto Ramos Guerrero Mexico
Sabrina Breton Cervera Mexico
Nisla Camaño Panama
Christian Ntizimira Rwanda
Frank Manase Tanzania
Antonia Kamate Tukundane Uganda
Mary Bunn United Kingdom
New members
Name Country
Sandra Schvetz Argentina
Juliana Gibello Brazil
Fernando Xavier Silva Canada
Leonie Herx Canada
Dioselina Negrete Colombia
Johanna Ceciliano Moreira Costa Rica
Marcela Bermudez Aguero Costa Rica
Betty Fey Espinoza Ecuador
Diana Carolina Lombeida Ecuador
Gretel Nathalie Lerque Portes Ecuador
Sandra Marisol Soto Nole Ecuador
Doris Carolina Landaverde Hernandez El Salvador
Jose Mario Lopez Saca Fundación de Medicina Paliativa del Salvador - Paliamed El Salvador
Shaleen Kumar India
Hibo Ibrahim Kenya
Denise Hernández Mexico
Fabiola Dominguez Ramirez Mexico
Faride Chejne Gomez Mexico
Jorge Guajardo Rosas Mexico
Jessica Enith Gomez Flores Panama
Julissa Cuesta Panama
Gonzalo Jaime Delgado Zegarra Peru
Rowena Marie Samares Philippines
Z. Zeynep Selvili Türkiye
Donna Fahey United States

See the full list of IAHPC members


Do you have any questions regarding membership issues?

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