Authors Eat…

Melissa Bowersock

If you are a fan of ghost stories you are in luck. Author Melissa Bowersock joins us for this week’s installment of Authors Eat…

When I was growing up I loved scary stories. My brother and I would watch Chiller Theatre on TV. Sometimes he would wake me up and we would sneak down to the living room and sit close to the TV with the volume on low. I love all representations of paranormal creatures: vampires, werewolves, Godzilla, swamp creatures, the blob – and especially ghosts. Ghosts always seemed more probable, more likely to exist in a parallel realm. After all, we can’t see air. Are you sure that at this moment you are alone?

Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning writer who turns her hand to any kind of story that moves her: contemporary, western, fantasy, romance, action/adventure, spiritual, satire or biography. She has written ten novels and one biography and has been both traditionally published and self-published. She also writes under the name of Amber Flame, and she is a certified hypnotherapist. She thrives in the Sonoran desert of Southern Arizona with her husband and an Airedale terrier.

In the author’s own words…

Anyone living in Arizona really has to like Mexican food because two out of every three restaurants in the state are Mexican. I personally could eat Mexican food three or four (or five or six) days a week. Over the years, I have redefined my own recipes multiple times and I have now what I believe to be the very best pork enchiladas on the planet.

I should issue a word of warning here. Because the pork cooks in a crock pot for many hours during the day, the heavenly aroma is enough to drive you nuts before you ever get dinner ready. One Christmas my husband and I went to visit our son and grandson in Washington state and I agreed to make my specialty and set the crock pot going early. My grandson (typical teen) rarely shows his face before noon on a non-school day, but by 11am he was downstairs saying, “What is that amazing smell? It’s driving me crazy!”

Ingredients (makes 20 enchiladas; about 6 servings)

1-1/2 pounds of pork stew meat

1 dry package salsa mix (I use Concord Foods mild but there is also a hot variety)

1 medium onion, diced

2 4-oz. cans diced green chiles

1 can green enchilada sauce (Hatch, El Paso, etc., mild, medium or hot to your taste)

1 4-oz can sliced black olives

3 cups shredded cheddar/jack cheese

20 small (4”) corn tortillas

¼ cup olive oil

 

Directions

Put pork stew meat and dry salsa mix in crock pot; add enough water to cover pork. Set on high for 6-7 hours. When done, dip pork out of water with a slotted spoon, but make sure to get some juice for moistness. Put pork in bowl, shred with a fork. Pork should be extremely tender. Set aside.

Have all other ingredients available in bowls or cans.

Spray a large (cake size) baking dish with non-stick olive oil spray.

In small skillet, heat olive oil to medium heat. Dip corn tortilla in oil, allow to fry 1-2 minutes, turning occasionally. Tortilla should be cooked by still flexible. Remove from oil with tongs (hold up and allow excess oil to drip back into pan) and lay tortilla flat in baking dish. Layer in pork, cheese, onions and green chiles to taste; roll and push to side of dish. Repeat until you have two rows, 10 enchiladas each.

Pour green enchilada sauce over all; use a spoon to make sure all tortilla surfaces have some sauce on them. Sprinkle cheese liberally over all. Drain olives and spread liberally over the cheese.

Microwave on high 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling. Remove from microwave and let stand about 5 minutes; serve up 2-3 enchiladas per serving.

On October 19th Melissa will be speaking at the Mohave County Library in Lake Havasu, Arizona. For more information please call (928)-453-0718.

For more information about Melissa and her books, visit http://www.newmoonrising.net or her blog at http://mjb-wordlovers.blogspot.com.