Stir everything around until the eggs are beginning to scramble. Then switch to a heat-resistant fork to make sure the contents are scrambling in small pieces.
Once your eggs are scrambled, pull the frying pan off the heat and shut off the burner.
Rinse out the bowl you used to whisk the eggs and transfer the scrambled eggs to the bowl.
Cut the chub of pork breakfast sausage into pieces.
Place the pork sausage and the bacon in the frying pan you used for the eggs and cheese.
Fry the sausage pieces and bacon at MEDIUM-HIGH heat until the meats are brown and crisp, and can be crumbled when they are cool.
Take the frying pan off the heat, turn off the hot burner, and use a slotted spoon or slotted spatula to drain the meats into a medium-size bowl lined with layers of paper towels.
Carefully (the meats could still be hot) pat the top of the meat with paper towels to blot the grease.
Scrape the bottom of the frying pan to remove any bits of meat that may have stuck to the bottom and place it on the burner you used to fry the meats. Turn that burner on MEDIUM-HIGH heat again.
Add the Potatoes O’Brien (or your substitute potatoes) to the frying pan and fry them until they’re brown and crisp.
Pull the frying pan off the heat and transfer the potatoes to another MEDIUM-SIZE bowl.
Open the can of chopped green chilies and use the strainer again to drain them. (Mine didn’t need draining—this may depend on which brand of chopped green chilies you use.)
Stir the chopped green chilies into the bowl with the Potatoes O’Brien.
When the pieces of meat are cool enough to crumble, remove the paper towels from the bowl and use your impeccably clean fingers to crumble up the sausage and bacon.
After your meats are crumbled, stir in half of the shredded Mexican cheese.
You now have three bowls on your counter. There’s the scrambled egg bowl, the meat and cheese bowl, and the potato bowl.
Eye the contents of the three bowls and get out a bowl that is large enough to hold all three. Then add the contents of the scrambled egg bowl, the meat and cheese bowl, and the potato and green chili bowl.
Use your impeccably clean fingers to mix everything up together in the large bowl.
Once you’ve mixed everything together thoroughly, use a spoon from your silverware drawer to taste a sample of the mixture. If you think it needs to be spicier, add a few drops of Slap Ya Mama hot sauce and mix that in.
Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. If you add anything at this point, make sure that you mix it in thoroughly.
Hannah’s 4th Note: Rather than make things too spicy, make sure you have an extra bottle of Slap Ya Mama hot sauce to put on the table. That way, people can choose the level of spicy that they prefer.
It’s time to assemble your Breakfast Enchiladas. Take the flour tortillas out of the package and make sure that you have at least 24 tortillas.
Spread out a sheet of plastic wrap on your counter. It should be about 12 inches long when you tear it off the roll.
Center a flour tortilla on the sheet of plastic wrap.
Place ? cup of your filling in the center of the flour tortilla. Check to make sure you have some of the scrambled egg mixture, the meat and shredded cheese mixture, and the potato and green chili mixture.
Spread 1 Tablespoon salsa over the top of the filling.
Pull the bottom edge of your tortilla over the filling and up to meet the top edge. This will roll the filling into the proper place.
Fold one side of the tortilla over the filling to the middle.
Fold the opposite side of the tortilla over the filling to the middle of the tortilla. (The sides may overlap a bit and that’s the way it should be.)
Starting from the bottom, roll the enchilada up tightly, creating a cylinder that will not leak when you transfer it to the baking pan. Repeat until you have used all the filling. (This should be approximately 24 enchiladas.) Open both cans or bottles of enchilada sauce. Pour a little red enchilada sauce in one baking pan and use a spatula to spread it around the bottom of the pan.
Pour a little green enchilada sauce in the other baking pan and use a spatula to spread that around to cover the bottom of the pan.
Place your unbaked enchiladas in the baking pans. (You will be placing approximately 12 enchiladas in each baking pan.)
As you place your enchiladas in the baking pans, make sure you leave at least ? inch of space between each roll. If you pack them in too tightly, you will not be able to separate them easily when you serve them to your guests.
Hannah’s 5th Note: If you don’t want to bake both pans, you may cover one with foil, put it in a freezer bag, and freeze it until you want to use it.
When you have finished rolling and placing your enchiladas in the baking pans, pour the rest of the red enchilada sauce over the pan with red sauce in the bottom. Then pour the rest of the green enchilada sauce over the pan with the green sauce in the bottom.
Sprinkle the rest of your Mexican shredded cheese evenly over the top of both pans.
When you have used up all the enchilada sauce, you’re ready to bake your creation.
Preheat your oven to 375 F., one rack in just above the center position and the other rack just below the center position. Make sure your cake pans fit on the racks before you begin to preheat the oven.
When your oven has come up to temperature, bake your pans of enchiladas at 375 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes or until the enchilada sauce is hot and bubbly.
Take your pans of enchiladas out of the oven and let them cool on cold stovetop burners or on wire racks.
Wait at least 5 minutes before serving your enchiladas. Then, if you wish, put a bowl of sour cream and another bowl of extra shredded Mexican cheese on the table. Make sure you have a bottle of Slap Ya Mama hot sauce (especially if you invite Mike!).
Yield: This recipe serves from 8 to 12 people, depending on their appetites.
Hannah’s 6th Note: If you have any enchiladas left over, simply cover the pan with aluminum foil and stick it in the refrigerator. If you have overnight guests, it shouldn’t surprise you if you find you don’t have many left in the morning.
Chapter Eight
“So where’s this boat you called me about?” Mike asked when Lonnie got close enough to talk to Hannah and Norman.
“Up there.” Norman pointed at the boat in the distance. “We didn’t want to interfere if there was nothing wrong, but I looked through the binoculars and there was someone draped over the wheel, facedown. Maybe he’s sleeping, but I thought it was odd enough for me to call you.”
“Is there anyone else in the boat?”
“It didn’t look like it to me.”
“Okay. I’ll take a look.” Mike got out his binoculars and studied the boat for a minute. “You’re right, Norman. There could be something wrong. The only way to tell is to get a lot closer.” He turned to Lonnie. “If the guy’s passed out or something, I may have to get into his boat. Can you match his speed?”
“I can try, but it’ll be tricky,” Lonnie told him.