National Corn Chip Day - January 29th

Today is National Corn Chip Day! The most common corn chips around here are Fritos®; I did a little digging to learn more, and found a very interesting story about "the birth of the Frito." Fritos are a needed ingredient in a family favorite dish, Taco Pie (which is not the same as Frito Pie). In fact, one year for his birthday, my brother requested "tacopie" for dinner. Naturally, this led to us calling it ta-CO-pee instead of TA-co PI.

Taco Pie (my version, a little different than the one I grew up with)
Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 envelope low sodium taco seasoning
1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls
about 4 C. Fritos®, crushed coarsely (you don't want fine crumbs), divided
1 C. prepared salsa
8 oz. sour cream
2 C. shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese

Directions: Preheat oven to 375ºF. Brown the meat and drain any fat. Add the seasoning and follow package instructions. While the meat cooks, spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray, and press unrolled crescent roll dough into the plate, covering the bottom and sides, pressing the seams closed. (I have tried this with the uncut sheet of crescent roll dough, and find the rolls work better, even though you have all the seams.) Spread 2 C. of the crushed chips to the bottom of the pie plate, covering evenly. Add the seasoned meat. Spread salsa over the meat, then the sour cream. Add the cheese. Top with the remaining 2 C. of crushed chips. Bake for 30 minutes, until the crust is browned and the cheese is melted.

Variations: This can also be made with ground turkey. I use the "hot" variety of taco seasoning when I do, since the turkey has such a mild flavor.

The recipe my mother give me called for American cheese slices, black olives, and no salsa. I don't ever remember her making it with the black olives (though it was on the recipe card). Include variations like that when you're compiling your family cookbook. Recipes evolve -- share those, too!

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National Granola Bar Day - January 21st

January 21st is Granola Bar Day, and/or New England Clam Chowder Day -- pick your poison!

There are so many varieties of clam chowder that it seems foolish to lump all of New England together, when so many areas there have their specialty. And they take it pretty seriously: Maine made it illegal to add tomatoes to it in 1939!

If your family has hotly-contested variations in their chowders, be sure to include all of them in your cookbook. Neglecting to do so could cause hurt feelings or even anger.

Granola bars have their variations, too, both in the ingredients and in the texture, chewy or crunchy. The whole-grain mixture has been around for well over a century, but granola became popular in the 1960s as a health food with the hippie movement. The granola bar is basically granola cereal that has been pressed into a bar shape. Chewy varieties are not baked, or have had the baking time significantly reduced.

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International Hot & Spicy Food Day - January 16th

January 16th is Hot and Spicy Food Day! Spicy foods can be very good for you. Not only will they warm you up from the inside out and clear your sinuses, but many of the things that add kick to your dish are also antimicrobial. However, not everyone can tolerate the burn. My mom can't take it hot at all, but my dad loves it (or did, he's lost some of his tolerance for it).

When you're including recipes of dishes that are quite spicy, it might be wise to note This is spicy as a warning for people who've never made it before. Even better, suggest ways to cook it to make it less spicy, like indicating where reductions can be made in the ingredients or even eliminated, or substituted (like jalapeños for habaneros).

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