Special to The Oakland Press/JOHN EHLKE Clarkston resident Tammy Dasbach serves up her chicken enchiladas, made from a recipe she got while her husband was in the military. She’s especially fond of this dish because of family memories tied to it.

Many people have a dish that they consider their specialty. It’s the recipe people always request and the one they know will give them rave results time and time again.

For Tammy Dasbach of Clarkston, that recipe is her chicken enchiladas.

She acquired it from a friend more than 20 years ago when her husband was in the Air Force. She and other wives and their children would get together for dinner when their spouses were on assignment.

Her friend served the enchiladas during one such occasion and shared the recipe. It became an instant hit with Dasbach’s family, especially her stepdad, Tom Smarch.

“My stepdad would always ask me to make these enchiladas,” she said. “He just loved the enchiladas.”

After several years, Dasbach asked if he would like her to make something else for him when he visited, but he declined.

“About a week before he died, in August of 2005, I made enchiladas for him,” she recalled.

Dasbach enjoys sharing the enchiladas with others, so it’s good that the hearty meal travels well.

“It’s a nice, easy dish to make to take over to someone’s house,” she said.

Through the years, Dasbach has experimented with the recipe a bit. Once she made it with cooked ground beef instead of cooked chicken.

She has also prepared it with a variety of cheeses.

The recipe calls for cooked, chopped chicken, making it a good way to use up leftover chicken.

Of course, if you don’t have any leftovers, you can cook some chicken just for the enchiladas.

Another alternative is to pick up a prepared rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.

Feast on roast chicken one day and use the remaining meat for the enchiladas.

Dasbach has even used canned chicken with good results.

She pairs the enchiladas with a fresh tossed salad to round out the meal.



Chicken Enchiladas

3-4 cups cooked, chopped chicken

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 small container (8 ounce) sour cream

1?4-1?2 package taco seasoning, to taste

1 small can (8-ounces) tomato sauce

Salsa, to taste (Dasbach uses about 2 cups)

Shredded cheese, whatever kind you prefer, to taste (Dasbach uses 8 ounces)

10 large flour tortillas

Mix together chicken, soup, sour cream and taco seasoning. Place some of the mixture on each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a 9-by-13-inch pan.

Next, pour tomato sauce and salsa over tortillas, making sure they are completely covered. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes.