Daddy's Stacked Enchiladas

I call these Daddy's Enchiladas because I always remember Daddy initiating their construction in our kitchen.  He learned to make homemade corn tortillas in Douglas, Arizona, when he met and married his sweetheart, Mildred Schwantees, who had grown up in Douglas and very close to her "south of the border" influence and friends.  There was a lot of excitement and fun when Daddy began to mold and smash the tortillas to fry them in hot oil.  Delicious! The sauce, however, was Mama's business.  She never made it the same, but used things she could find for spices and thickening.  She only ever gave me one hint about the success of enchilada sauce and it has stuck with me:  It begins with a good beef broth. She might throw a number of things into the blender: tomatoes, a can of chili con carne, left over germade mush, cream of mushroom soup. So you can try her method, which will undoubtedly turn out quite delicious, or you can get down to business and make my recipe, which it turns out, is just more of Mama's throwing great stuff into the pot.

ENCHILADA SAUCE

• 2 pounds of stew meat, roast or steak

• 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil

 In instapot or large, heavy bottom sauce pan, heat oil, then add either cut or whole pieces of meat; salt and pepper generously. Saute in oil until juices are gone.  Brown the meat thoroughly, key to the ensuing flavor.

 Now add and stir briefly with meat:

• One large onion, sectioned

• 3-4 green chilis, seeded

• 2-3 jalapenos, seeded

• Tablespoon of diced garlic

Pour in:

• 4 cups water

Pressure cook for 40 minutes (2 pounds of meat).  Or simmer on stove for 2-4 hours until meat is tender. When pressured down, remove the meat with large slotted spoon from the juice, set aside to pull apart later. Pour juices and veges out of the pan into another container to cool slightly and prepare to blend in batches.

In blender:

• 32 ounce bottle (4 cups) tomatoes, or (2) 14 ounce cans diced or whole tomatoes

• 1/3 to 1/2 cups flour

• 2 Tablelspoons chili powder

• 1 Tablespoon powder cumin

• Teaspoon salt

Once blended and smooth, pour the sauce into the instapot or large pot; place on saute setting and prepare to boil the mixture down. Boil or simmer until sauce is like gravy; this can take half an hour or more. 

Check your seasonings.  Good things to add for more intense flavor at this point: ( You get to decide what kind of a kick you like)  

• One teaspoon Better Then Bullion, beef flavor 

• Taco seasoning

• Red Pepper (cayenne) powder, go easy

• Tabasco sauce, just a little!

• Salt 

When sauce is ready, prepare your meat by forking it apart.  For a large group,  I usually cook up another pound of hamburger or two and add it to the other meat. Put it all in a large (ish) cast iron pan.  Season with taco seasoning and pour 1-2 cups of the enchilada sauce in with it, stir and let simmer on very low  heat to keep hot. Another great way to prepare this meat is to pour 1-2 cups of homemade salsa on it; simmer it down slightly, and gently; keep warm.

CORN TORTILLAS:

Spray large electric griddle with avacado or olive oil. Place corn tortillas on griddle, flipping when warmed, but not crisp, on each side.  Make a stack to keep warm.

ASSEMBLE: Tortilla, sauce, shredded cheddar cheese, meat, more sauce, repeat.

TOPPINGS: Diced tomatoes, lettuce, onions, sour cream, lime squeezings, ranch dressing, Tabasco (because Daddy LOVES it; me too)

SIDES: Creamy refried beans, rice, olives.

MASA toritllas (Daddy's style): prepare as directed on package.  Press between wax paper with tortillas press. Fry in hot oil in cast iron pan, or with a little olive oil on electric griddle.