Homestyle Mexican Chile (Hot Salsa) Made Using A Metate

This is how my first mother in law ("Mom") made the fresh salsa she served at every meal. I used my metate because that is how she made it, but you can use a blender, food processor, or your own mortar and pestle. If you are enjoying these videos, I hope you will subscribe to my You Tube channel! Thank you :-)

Homemade Menudo: Mexican Tripe and Hominy Soup Recipe

This is so warming and delicious on cold days. Traditionally eaten for breakfast, we usually have it for supper.  The first cold snap each year, Paul will usually say "how about making a pot of menudo?" :-)

New Years Eve Traditions

Watch Night in the United States dates back to at least 1770, when St George Methodist Church in Philadelphia held this New Year's Eve service. Charles Wesley had adopted it from the earlier practice of the Moravian Church. Snopes.ccom has a great article on the history of Watch Night services. In 1855, C. H. Spurgeon gave a powerful sermon (click here to read it), for a Watch Night service in a Baptist church.

The Fisherman's Chapel, an interdenominational church in Port OConnor Tx holds a Watch Night service on New Years Eve which we went to when we lived on the coast. It was a great and happy way to spend the evening and ring in the new year! Many other churches (especially small or non-denominational ones) have renewed this tradition and will be holding services tonight.


Fireworks on New Year's Eve is also a huge tradition in Texas. When the boys were little, the family gathered over at Mom and Dad's house, the men built a small bonfire in the driveway and the kids popped firecrackers and shot off fireworks as long as they could stay awake. One year, a whistling spinning firework stayed low to the ground instead of shooting up high. It somehow got behind Nicolas and chased him for several circuits around the drive before shooting off into the street! From then on, we called those "Nicol Chasers"! There will be community fireworks at the rodeo arena here in Blanket tonight - and I am sure the Volunteer Fire Department will be standing by just in case!

Paul bought Pickled Herring, which was his mother's traditional New Years Eve supper. My family ate Black Eyed Peas for dinner (lunch) on New Year's Day. Collard greens are a "must have" New Year's food for many southerners.

My favorite tradition, the one Mama taught us, was to sing Auld Lang Syne. This old teapot seems to carry a lesson for us. It was made by Copeland (Spode), and was expensive when it was made, 130 years ago. High quality, and worthy of sitting on a fine table. It's been cherished and used a lot in the intervening years.

The spout broke off and has been rebuilt. The handle snapped at some other time and has been glued back on. The lid was lost, and has been replaced with one that doesn't fit. It's crazed, chiped, stained and shows its age in wear. It could be in worse shape I guess - but it's hard to see how!

But it is still beautiful. If we wanted to use it, it would still steep a nice cuppa tea. And we can still read the words written on it so long ago - and they still are just as moving as when Robert Burns first wrote them:

"Let's take a cup o' kindness yet
For days o'Auld Lang Syne."

Let us remember, tonight and in the year to come, that the old things we have - and the old ways, habits and patterns of life - still have a lot of happiness to offer. Let us be thankful tonight.

How To Make Enchiladas Like Mom Made

Mom (Narcissa Padron etc.) taught me how to make enchaladas. They are not difficult but used to be time consuming. Not so any more, as we now have excellent quality corn tortillas available and can simply warm them on a comal instead of having to fry each for a couple of seconds in lard so they would soften up enough to eat. Alvina told me recently that her mother also used to fry the tortillas, but that she no longer does either. Those old packaged corn tortillas we used to
get were not nearly the quality that we have available now.


Take your favorite brand of corn tortillas (pack of 20) and heat them each on both sides on a hot comal or griddle. Stack and wrap in a towel and set aside.

For beef enchaladas, crumble and thoroughly brown 1 pound of ground beef until it is fully cooked. Season only with salt and finely ground black pepper. Drain and set aside.

Grate colby, longhorn, or mild cheddar cheese. If you want cheese enchaladas, you will need about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of cheese per enchalada. If you are making beef ones, the cheese is just for the topping, so grate the amount that suits you. Set aside.

Traditional enchaladas have chopped raw onion in them, both cheese and beef. If you like them this way, chop up some onion and set it aside.

To make the chili gravy (aka enchalada sauce), melt a couple of tablespoons of lard or shortening in a skillet. If you have cooked ground beef, you could use your beef drippings instead.

Add about 3 tablespoons flour to the hot grease and blend well. Get out your whisk and then add 3 cups of water, whisking constantly. You may need to add more water as it cooks to get the consistency right.

Add a little salt, maybe half a teaspoon.

Turn the heat down to a simmer and add your favorite brand of chili powder, again whisking constantly. This is another place where each person has to use their own taste, and amounts may vary depending on the brand you use, as well. I like a lot of chili powder in ours, some
may not want so much. Anywhere from a third to half a bottle of chili powder should be about right.

Gebhardt is the brand I use for this dish (but not for making chili - I use Morton's Chili Blend for that). Other brands are also excellent. I have been trying to remember what brand Mom used, and I can't. Need to ask some of the girls, they will know.

Cook and stir, adding a little more water a little at a time if needed to make a gravy of a thin consistency, then remove from heat.

I use a 9 x 13 baking pan for ours. Grease the pan, then spoon a little of the gravy into it and spread out across the bottom.


Take a corn tortilla in one hand, put a little chili gravy in it, and fill it with a small amount of either cheese or meat, add onions, fold the top over onto the bottom and roll it up. Lay it in the prepared pan.


Make the next one and lay it firmly against the first and so on. They should be packed closely together in the pan.When the pan is full, spoon the chili gravy over all the enchaladas, smoothing it around so that it covers all the tortillas. Sprinkle grated cheese over it all, and more onions if you wish.


Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and they are heated through.

Serve with frijoles refritos, spanish rice and ensalad.

Muy Bueno!

By the way, this same chili gravy is what she used to make Chicken In Red Sauce. Stew a chicken and remove the bones, then add to the chili gravy and heat through. Serve with tortillas!