Frito pie!

As this is evidently the Texas state (or national, depending on where you stand with respect to the secession issue) dish, I felt it my solemn duty as a newly minted Texican to concoct it—as inauthentically as possible, of course, on account that I am now one of those folks who gets all up at arms about the food chain (you might know them as vegetarians). This of course means that I used kidney beans instead of real Texas chili (which is all about the meat and contains no beans whatsoever). I lifted the recipe from this site. I omitted the sour cream, but otherwise remained true.

It should be noted that I made the official Texas state/national dish in my excellent new Texas decorative cake pan, replete with a giant Texas mold in the middle and, as the pan literature noted, "Blue bonnet accents". More statist/nationalist points!

The verdict? It was all right. I should have used a better cheese and maybe baked it for less time, as I think I would have preferred a soupier consistency. Also, I probably would have halved the tomato sauce, but then I'm not much of a fan. I'm frankly not necessarily thrilled that I have as many leftovers to get through as I do. But, hey, it was relatively cheap to make, is relatively healthy to eat (if you disregard that it consists of a whole bag of Fritos), and boy do I feel (semi)authentically Texan now.

And look! I took pictures!

The indomitable aura of Frito pie fixins', plus Don Pedrito, the purported (by the candle holder) patron saint of Vida y Salud.

A slightly more somber rendering of Frito pie fixins'.

Everything is redder in Texas.

It's beginning to look a lot like Texas!

All finished. Mournfully masticate whilst contemplating the futility of existence.