Easy Red Enchilada Sauce

Over medium heat in a medium saucepan, blend 2 Tbls shortening with 2 Tbls flour. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup chili powder until oil is absorbed. Slowly add 2 cups liquid (water or broth or tomato juice or tomato sauce or a combination). Salt to taste. Simmer 20 minutes.

Note: Chili Powder is NOT the same as Ground Chile Peppers. Chili powder contains ground chile peppers PLUS spices like cumin, garlic and Mexican oregano. If you use plain ground chile peppers for the Red Enchilada Sauce, you will probably want to spice it up with some cumin, garlic, and oregano. For a discussion of “chile” vs “chili” see http://itsfiveoclocksomewhere.blogspot.com/2007/08/chile-vs-chili.html; I’m not very good at using them consistently, but I usually add pepper after the word chile or chili unless I mean the stew . . .