Green Chile Beef Stew

I have loved every place I've lived. And for every place I've called home, there is food indelibly entwined with my memories: hot apple dumplings at the autumnal Feast of the Hunter's Moon in Indiana; Mexican food from diverse dives and restaurants in Southern California; tostones, beans and rice, and mofongo here in Puerto Rico; and in New Mexico, chiles. Green chiles being roasted whole in huge oil-drum roasters. Red chile ristras hanging from pueblo-style homes. On every New Mexican cuisine menu: posole, adobo, and green chile stew. Of course, the meal came with a basket of sopapillas. Here's my easy pantry version of the stew, along with the sopapillas that you have to eat with honey butter.

Stew:
4 12-oz cans beef chunks in broth
2 10-oz cans green chile sauce(can be traditional chile verde or green enchilada sauce)
1 onion, diced
1 can white beans(I had navy beans),drained
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cups frozen corn or 1 drained can corn
1 large tomato, diced, or 1/2-1 cup salsa
garlic, sugar, salt, pepper to taste

Drizzle hot pot with canola oil; add onion and saute a few minutes. If using fresh chopped garlic, add in at the end and saute just until you smell it. Add in everything else except the corn. Simmer until carrots are tender. Add in corn and turn off heat. Cover and let sit about 10 minutes.

Sopapillas:
2 cups unbleached flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs shortening
1 cup buttermilk
oil or shortening(I used a mix) for deep-frying

In a bowl, sift or whisk together flour, bading powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the shortening and cut in using forks or pastry blender, until it forms particles the size of small peas. Add the buttermilk, and stir until dough comes together in a ball. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth, 10-15 times. Roll dough out into a square shape that's about 1/4 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into desired number of squares(I cut 9). Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest 30 minutes. Heat about 2 inches of oil in a heavy pan. Fry 2 or 3 squares at a time. Sopapillas should puff up. Turn when frying side is light golden brown. Remove when golden on other side. Keep sopapillas on a plate in warm oven while you finish frying the rest. For honey butter, combine 1 stick softened butter with at least an equal part of honey. Mix well.