Mama's Enchiladas

1 package of corn tortillas (20-30 count)
2 cans of Wolf Brand Chili (10-14 oz. cans)
Shredded Velvetta Cheese (two packages of shredded or one medium block)
1 medium chopped onion
vegetable or canola oil

Heat in a small skillet, the vegetable or canola oil on medium heat.  You need enough in the pan to float a tortilla but not deep enough to deep fry.  About a 1/2 inch of oil should be plenty but watch it and don't let it get too hot or your tortillas will be tough.  Place one tortilla at a time in the hot oil just long enough to make it go limp.  Do Not Over Cook It.  You just want to heat it up enough to soften it up so that you can roll it into an enchilada, so less than 10 seconds is plenty of time.  I use a cookie sheet lined with paper towels to lay out the softened tortillas as I go and repeat layers of paper towels to keep the tortillas from collecting too much grease.  This also helps them cool so you can handle them when you are ready to assemble them.  I usually use a package of 30 and soften up about 22 and then hard crispy fry the last eight to eat like a chip with the enchiladas.  Fry the last few until crispy, remove from the oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  When you are ready to assemble the enchiladas you simply want to fill each tortilla with enough cheese and chopped onions to taste, roll into an enchilada and place seam side down in your plate or baking dish.  Repeat this process until all the enchiladas are rolled.  Pre-heat your chili in a sauce pan on the stove, this will help shorten the heating time they will spend in the oven.  Pour the heated chili over the plate or pan of enchiladas and top with any remaining shredded cheese.  Bake in the oven 10 to 12 minutes or until all cheese and chili start to bubble.  Heat longer if needed.

I made these enchiladas for our Christmas Eve dinner and it was a perfect family meal to share together before the holiday. This recipe is just in my head from watching my mother make them when I was growing up.  This is the ultimate comfort food and it works even better as a comfort if they are made by my mother.  There is something about homemade love straight from your mother's kitchen that taste better than anything you have ever had before.  My mother has made these enchiladas for as long as I can remember and I don't know where she learned to make them but they are really, really good. I use to stand in a chair next to her in the kitchen and help her shred the cheese.  You can shred your own Velvetta or buy it already shredded.  It usually takes at least two packages of the pre-shredded cheese or nearly one medium sized box of Velvetta.  I cannot stress this enough.....you MUST use Velvetta Cheese!!!!  These enchiladas, with all their goodness and love, will not taste like Mama's if you don't use the Velvetta.  Longhorn or cheddar is no substitute for the taste of Velvetta in this dish.  Even if you are not a fan of Velvetta you will most likely be after you have eaten these enchiladas.  When I was little I didn't care for Velvetta and my mother would  make a special plate for me with just Longhorn cheese.  When I finally matured and came to my culinary senses, I tried the Velvetta and loved it!  My mother use to make every one's own personal plate of enchiladas  and heat them one or two plates at a time in the oven.  I don't care for onions in mine so she would make mine plain with just cheese, everyone else's would be cheese and onion and my mothers would be stuffed with onions, topped with onions and served with a side of onions.  My mother loves onions!  When I  make these I make a pan of cheese and onion and a pan of just cheese.  My younger son doesn't care for the onions either.  He also likes his with beef so sometimes I will cook up a small pan of seasoned ground beef and add that to his enchiladas.  Mothers are always willing to make up and mess up as many dishes as it takes to make everyone happy.  My mother would sometimes cook three different things just to make every one's favorite dishes.  Any time you cook like this you have to have that one special ingredient that you can't buy in a store.  It's called love and it always sits on a shelf in your heart!