Green Enchiladas

My mom used to make these green enchiladas fairly often when I was growing up. I loved them then, and I love them now. I changed her recipe a tiny bit by adding some fresh onions and garlic (we would have likely all-out revolted if she had put onions in, I remember having a conniption the first time she made them and dared add the green chiles). These are super mild, though if you have any roasted chiles in the freezer, your version will likely be much spicier. These are also a super way to use up leftover turkey after the holidays.

Green Enchiladas

1 T. olive oil
1 onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey breast
salt and pepper
cumin
1 cup sour cream (you could also sub in plain yogurt, especially Greek yogurt)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can diced chiles
garlic powder
onion powder
grated cheese
8 flour tortillas, soft taco size

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and turkey. Add some salt, pepper, and cumin to taste (I added just a little bit, maybe 1/2 t. at most). Brown the meat and remove from heat.

While the meat is cooking, combine the sour cream, soup, and chiles in a bowl. Sprinkle some garlic and onion powder in  (start with about 1/2 t. each). Taste and adjust as necessary. I added a little black pepper. The soup is pretty salty on it's own, but you may personally feel the need to add salt as well.

In each tortilla, spread a thin layer of the sauce, then add meat and cheese. Roll up and put in a greased 13x9 pan. Continue with all the tortillas (you should aim for evenly distributing the meat between each tortilla). Spread the remaining sauce over the top of the tortillas and bake for 30 minutes.

MMMM ... the finished product

Here's what the inside of the tortillas should look like before they are rolled up.

Turkey and Ramen Soup

This is quick, easy, and cheap. Great use for leftover turkey.

Turkey and Ramen Soup

4 packages Top Ramen
1 c. chopped leftover turkey
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
2 eggs
3 green onions, chopped*

Cook the ramen according to package directions. While it's cooking, chop the leftover turkey and warm it in the microwave. Once the ramen is cooked, add the remaining ingredients. Stir (the hot soup will cook the egg; if you are not cool with this just omit the egg). Serve.

*optional

Turkey and Butternut Squash Bake

This recipe is gooooood. Even if you have never had squash, or if you think you don't like squash, this is really tasty. I altered a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens to make more of a casserole (and use up leftover turkey).

Turkey and Butternut Squash Bake

2 c. chopped turkey (cooked)
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
2 T. olive oil
8 oz. dried extra-wide noodles
4 T. butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 T. lemon juice
1 package light cream cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 c. panko or bread crumbs (maybe a good use for leftover rolls?)

Preheat oven to 425. In a bowl, toss the squash cubes in the oil. Place in a rectangular baking dish and cook for 30 minutes, stirring twice.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain, set aside. In the same pot, melt 2 T. of the butter. Add the onions and stir. Cook the onions over medium heat until translucent. Stir in lemon juice. Add noodles to the onion mixture, then stir in the cream cheese, 1/2 of the Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the cooked squash cubes and chopped turkey.

Put mixture in a baking dish, and top with the panko/bread crumbs and remaining butter and Parmesan. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Green Turkey Enchiladas

This is a green enchilada recipe, adapted for use with Thanksgiving leftovers, from a recipe my in-laws were kind enough to give to us. It's really good with some roasted Hatch green chiles (my in-laws are from southern New Mexico) but canned green chiles will work just fine.

Green Enchiladas

2 c. chopped turkey
4 small cans green chiles (or about 1 c. chopped frozen or fresh roasted)
4 c. chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 T. flour
24 corn tortillas
canola oil (for frying the tortillas)
about 1 c. grated cheddar cheese

Put broth and chopped turkey into a large pot, put on medium heat. Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in butter over medium heat in a medium pan until onions are translucent. Add onions and garlic mixture to the broth pot.

Add a bit more butter to the pan and melt, then whisk in the flour and cook to a golden brown color. Whisk in enough of the broth to make a thin gravy, then add the contents of the pan to the broth pot.

Set the pot to simmer and fry up the tortillas, one at a time, in a thin layer of oil in a fry pan (if you have a helper, they can fry the tortillas while you are working on the previous steps).

Start layers, in either a large crock pot or a large baking dish. The broth pot goes first, then a single layer of tortilla, then a thin layer of cheese. Repeat until done.

If using a crock pot, cook on low for about 3 hours. If using a baking dish, cook at 350 for 1 hour.

Leftover Turkey Mac Recipe

I am big on throwing in a little of this or that into recipes (and rarely follow any recipe to the letter, except when baking). Hence the title of the blog. This week I had a little bit of leftover turkey breast from one my husband roasted a few days ago. I also had some leftover canned pumpkin from some pumpkin pancakes. And pasta was on sale this week at the grocery store, so hence ... turkey mac and cheese. It was yummy. And easy. And you can use any combo of meat or veggie that you want, which makes it a good clear-the-fridge recipe. Feel free to tinker! I starred the items that I feel are easily interchangeable (or just plain leave-outable). This would be a nice recipe post-Thanksgiving when you are faced with a fridge full of leftovers.

Preheat oven to 375.

Ingredients:

Sauce:
2 T. Butter
1 T. Olive oil
3 T. flour
(about) 1 c. water or broth or stock
1 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 T. dijon mustard
2/3 c. canned pumpkin*
1 can cream of mushroom soup
A couple shakes of the worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. plain greek yogurt (or sour cream, and you can use light or fat free if you like)
Salt and pepper

Guts:
1 package elbow pasta (or whatever shape you like), cooked
1 c. diced cooked turkey breast*
1 c. frozen peas/carrots mix, thawed and warmed*
1 c. frozen broccoli, thawed and warmed*

Topping:
1/4 cup panko or bread crumbs

In a big pan, melt the butter and oil over medium heat. You are making a roux so when it's melted, whisk in your flour. Whisk fairly constantly until the flour mix is a nice shade of light brown. Slowly whisk in the liquid (either water or broth, whatever you have), so there are hopefully no lumps. You can adjust the amount of liquid to make sure this base is a sort of slurry, you don't want a lumpy paste. Add the grated cheese, then all the other sauce ingredients except the yogurt/sour cream. Stir to combine and melt the cheese. Remove from heat, add the yogurt/sour cream and combine, then add the guts you will be using. Transfer to a 9x13 baking dish (probably should spray a coating of Pam in the pan before you do this). Add the bread crumbs. Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes. If you like a brown topping, turn the oven to broil and broil for 2 minutes (watch it like a hawk!).

I wish I had taken a picture, but I didn't, so sorry about that. But the mustard and sharp cheese combo was really good together. You couldn't really taste the pumpkin, but it did add a really nice orangey color to the sauce.