Shredded Turkey & Chile Enchiladas

I was going through my freezer the other day and realized that I had stashed the turkey legs from Thanksgiving for later use.  After a little thought enchiladas came to mind.

For the Filling:
Shredded Turkey Leg Meat
1 small can diced green chiles
1 small block of queso fresco
1/2 small can of spicy Mexican tomato sauce
1 small can of plain tomato sauce

Mix all the filling ingredients together in a large bowl and reserve for later.

Enchilada Sauce:
10 dried  California dried chiles
1/2 small can of spice Mexican tomato sauce
Turkey Stock (canned or fresh)

Stem and remove the seeds from the chiles.  Rinse well.  Place in a sauce pan and cover with at least 3 inches of fresh water.  Bring to a simmer.  Turn off the water and let set for about an hour until nice and soft.

Strain the chiles and place in the bowl of a food processor.  Add in the tomato sauce and blend.  Slowly add in turkey stock until you get a nice smooth consistency.  

Turkey Stock:  Place the leg bones and any remaining chunks of turkey meat into a large stock pot.  Add in 1 large onion & 2-3 carrots coarsely chopped.  Lightly smash 8 cloves of garlic with the back of a nice and toss those in too.  Now add some seasoning.  I used salt, pepper, oregano and dried ground ancho chiles.
Let this simmer for 3 hours.   Strain well.  Use the stock in sauces and soups.

Prepare the Enchiladas:
You can use either white or corn tortillas.  I used small white tortillas for this recipe because that's what I had on hand.
Spread about 1/4 cup of prepared sauce in the bottom of rectangular baking dish.
Heat up a large skillet with a few tablespoons of vegetable oil.  Heat up a tortillas in the oil on both sides just to warm it up and make it nice and pliable.  Place it on a plate and place a big spoonful of the filling in the center. Roll up the tortilla and then place it in the baking dish.  Continue until baking dish is full of enchiladas.  Pour more sauce over the top and bake in a 350 degree oven until nice and bubbly.  About 30 minutes.  You can sprinkle some shredded cheese over the top if you like before putting in the oven.

I served my enchiladas with sour cream & salsa.

You can fake this whole recipe by using your favorite jarred or canned Enchilada sauce and store bought shredded chicken.  I really just wanted to cook all day and make everything from scratch.

Turkey & Barley Soup

Sunday evening I was surveying my kitchen and realized that I had a lot of bits and pieces left over, but not really enough for a whole meal.  After going through the pantry I realized that I could cobble together a soup in my crock-pot.

Ingredients: 
1 cup chopped turkey chunks
1 small onion chopped (you can use celery instead or a mix of both if you prefer)
1 cup sliced carrots (I used some leftover baby carrots)
1 can chicken stock
leftover turkey broth from Thanksgiving (I had about 1/2 cup of pan drippings)
2/3 cup of barley (feel free to use rice or some chopped up potato pieces
3 cups of water
Spices: liberal amount of black pepper, 1 teaspoon of savory, a dash of red chile flakes, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and a few shakes of salt.

I tossed this all in the crock-pot and let it cook on low while I was at work.  The smell when I got home this evening was amazing and it tasted even better.

You could add a can of chopped tomatoes to this for an even heartier soup.