Not-Frito Not-Chili Not-Pie

Alright, this one started out as what was supposed to be a quick and easy dinner for my roommate and I. We didn't really want to put a whole lot of time and effort into it, so we thought "Frito Chili Pie"...everyone loves it, it's easy, and we had all of the ingredients. Or at least we thought we had all of the ingredients. We were planning on being lazy and using canned chili. Well, we got started...browning the meat and onions and all of that shit. Well lo-and-behold, we go to get the canned chili out of the cabinet and (you already knew this was coming) we didn't have any goddamned chili. So I set out to the 7-11 to grab a can. No chili there, either. Mind you, this is about half past midnight and I don't want to have to get in my car and try to find parking by my apartment when I get back (that can be a 45 min process in itself at this hour). Fortunately, our neighborhood has a few mom-and-pop markets within walking distance (although farther than I wanted to be walking at this point), and being that we live in an Indo-Pak neighborhood, they tend to keep late hours. Unfortunately, this also means that they specialize in Indo-Pak groceries. In case you didn't know, Hormel No-Beans Chili is not Halal certified- so no chili for us (I did walk an extra 2 blocks to check all 6 markets, though). After several phone calls to my roommate (I was only supposed to be going to the corner of our block), I ended up with a bit more on my hands than I originally anticipated. The good news is, though, that this recipe is actually pretty easy if you have all of the ingredients on hand. But seeing as we didn't use Fritos, didn't use actual chili, or make a pie, we decided this could only be one thing: "Not-Frito Not-Chili Not-Pie"

Skill Level: Easy
Budget: Cheap
Makes: 8 Servings

Prep Time: 25-35 mins

Cook Time: 15-20 mins

Ingredients:
Ground Beef- 1 lb (Ground Pork or Turkey may also be used)
1 Red Onion- diced
Whole Kernel Corn- 1 can, drained
Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies- 1 can, drained (I use Rotel for EVERYTHING...love the stuff)
Beans- 1 can, drained (we used small fava that were pre-seasoned and cooked with cumin..I'd guess that kidney, black, or pinto would work just as well, if not better)
Tortilla Chips- 12 oz
Velveeta- 8 oz (cut into squares)
Mixed Shredded Mexican Cheese- 8 oz
Seasonings to taste (we used red chili powder, salt, pepper, onion salt, and garlic salt)

Preparation:
Sautee onion in a bit of vegetable oil or butter until tender. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain and return to sautee pan.

Add Velveeta and cook on med-low heat until cheese is melted and gooey. Add seasoning (approximately 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, 1 teaspon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 2 teaspoons onion powder and 2 teaspoons garlic powder).

Add corn, tomatoes, and beans. Stir well and cook on med to med-low heat until mixture is warm throughout. Mix in 1/2 of the crushed tortilla chips

Crush tortilla chips to about 1/4"-1/2" pieces. Spread just enough of the crushed chips to cover the bottom of a 9"x 13" casserole pan. Spread the meat mixture ("meat mixture" just became one of my new favorite phrases in the world) evenly over the chips. Crush the remainder of the chips to approximately 1/16"-1/8" pieces and sprinkle over the meat mixture (I'm going to use it every chance I get, you know). Spread the shredded cheese evenly on top and cook in a 340 degree oven approximately 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

See, that was easy (assuming you didn't have to visit 6 Indo-Pak grocers with no knowledge of the Hindi language). Now go make dinner for all of your friends!