Taco in a Bag

"Walking Taco” or “Taco-in-a-Bag” are not really tacos, but are Midwest names for the Texas dish called "Frito Pie". A bag of Frito’s corn chips is opened and topped with various ingredients, such as cheese, beans, tomatoes, onions, ground beef, guacamole, and salsa.

The “walking frito pie” began in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the 1982 World’s Fair. Petro’s Chili & Chips (now a restaurant chain) established a booth at the Fair; the Fair’s theme was “energy,” and the product was originally named “Petroleum Belly.” The “walking taco” quickly became popular at other fairs in Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois in the 1980s and 1990s.
Frito pie (also known as “Frito Chili Pie,” “Frito Boat”, “Chili Frito Casserole” or, in the Midwest, a “Walking Taco") is a corn chip and chili con carne dish of disputed origin, popular in the South Western United States. A basic Frito pie typically consists of a small single-serving bag of Fritos corn chips, with a cup of chili poured over the top, usually finished up with grated cheese or onions and jalapeños and sour cream. Because there are so many Fritos compared to the amount of chili, only part of the Fritos will get saturated by the chili, and most will stay at least partly crunchy.

In the Midwestern United States, there is a variation called a “walking taco”. Along with Fritos, Nacho Cheese Doritos are commonly used as the chip base, and the meal is almost always eaten “in the bag”. Another difference between a walking taco and a Frito pie is that walking tacos rarely have chili in them, using seasoned beef or pork instead. After the meat goes in the bag, it is finished with cheese, lettuce, tomato, salsa, sour cream, or any taco-friendly topping the eater wishes. Walking tacos are popular in the Midwest at sports venues, fundraisers, open houses, camping, block parties, picnics and state fairs.

This is not exactly a recipe but a novel idea that requires very little clean up.

This would be a great party idea for a Halloween gathering.

I tried several store to find bags that said: taco in a bag but I was unsuccessful. Then I went right to the resturant that served them and they told me only can get them through their food vendor. I would have to buy a case-96!! Yikes a bit too many for me. So I guess will just have to settle for individual bags of corn chips at the grocery store and keep hoping I will be lucky to find them.