Santa Fe Stew

I have a pot of this on my stove as we speak.  If it tastes half as good as it smells, tomorrow's dinner is going to be amazing!  I roasted some green chilis to add to this stew.  I'll post that recipe next.

Fry 3 of 4 strips of bacon in a heavy pan.  Remove and reserve crisp bacon.  Brown 1lb cubed pork, beef, or other meat in the bacon fat.  Add 5 cloves of garlic, diced and 2 onions chopped.  Saute until onion browns a bit.

Add 1 can stale beer, 5 bay leaves, a dash of vinegar, 1/2 to 1 tsp. cumin, 1 to 2 tbsp. leaf oregano, freshly ground black pepper to taste, water to cover everything in the pan.

Simmer until meat is getting tender, probably an hour or two.

Then add 3 potatoes, cubed, salt to taste and 1 tsp. sugar.  Add enough water or stock to cover well. 

Simmer until potatoes are beginning to get a bit tender.  Stir occasionally, but gently so that you don't break up the potatoes.  When potatoes are getting tender, add a cup or two of roasted and peeled green chilis cut into rather large pieces.

Simmer a few more minutes until the potatoes are nice and tender.  The recipe says to garnish with the bacon but I added it to the stew right at the end.

Serve with warm tortillas.