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.

Spicy Mac and Cheese Dinner

Ingredients: 2.5 cups of milk (whole or 2%), 4 tablespoons of butter, 4 tablespoons of flour, 4 ounces of grated pepper jack cheese, 2 cups of cooked pasta ( I used shells), 2 cups of sliced mushrooms, 2 cups of chopped broccoli, 1.5 cups of diced leftover chicken, 1/4 cup of bread crumbs, 1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese, spice blend, salt & pepper
My spice blend: 1 teaspoon each: aleppo pepper, cayenne pepper, hot paprika & black pepper.

Preheat Oven to 350 and spray a baking dish with oil or wipe down with butter.

Boil the pasta in salted water according to package directions and saute the mushrooms in a skillet with a little butter or olive oil.

Meanwhile start your Bechamel Sauce.  In a medium sauce pan melt down the butter until nice and foamy.

 While your butter is melting heat up your milk in the microwave or on the stove top almost to a boil.  Add your flour to the melted butter and whisk constantly.  When the flour-butter mix turns a nice sandy brown then start to add in your milk.

Keep whisking!  Bring the mix up to a boil and then turn down the heat to low.  Add in the shredded cheese & spice blend.  Whisk away - don't stop.  Your cheese sauce should be nice and thick now.  Keep stirring for a few minutes and then add in the cooked mushrooms.  Cook an additional 3 minutes.

Mix together your drained pasta, cheese sauce, chopped up chicken and broccoli.  Pour into a oven safe baking dish.  I used one of the round glass Pyrex dished that has a lid.  Mix together the Parmesan and bread crumbs.  Sprinkle over the top of the mac and cheese.

Bake for 1 hour at 350.

Making your own cheese sauce sounds a bit complicated but it's really not.  I got this in the oven in slightly less than 30 minutes.  If you are still freaked out by making your own bechamel you could cheat and used some canned cream of mushroom soup.  I'd still heat it up and melt in some cheese.

If you suck it up and learn out to make bechamel you can make so many other wonderful sauces.  It's one of the core sauces in French cuisine.  Besides, if you ever find your self home with just a little bit of milk, butter, flour and some cheese hunks left over in the fridge you are on your way to making some kick ass home mac and cheese.  Scour the freezer and pantry for some great additions.  I love adding crushed canned tomatoes or frozen peas to basic mac and cheese.  This is my go to dinner when I'm trying to raid the leftover's before I go grocery shopping again.