Caity Sue's Turkey Enchiladas

By now people must be getting pretty sick of turkey, if you still have any left over...I know I am getting tired of that bird! I decided to use the last of Tom Turkey tonight by making a turkey enchilada dish. I decided to create my own recipe and I hope you like it. The measurements are approximate but I think they're pretty close.

Caity Sue's Turkey Enchiladas

1 1/2 lbs tomatillos, husks removed, quartered
1 white onion, coarsely chopped
1-3 jalapenos (depending on your taste), seeded and coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
water
1-3 cloves garlic (depending on your taste)
2 - 3 TBSP cilantro
Chicken broth
4 cups turkey meat, shredded
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup sour cream, separated
1 can cream of chicken soup, separated
1/2 tsp cumin
12-15 corn tortillas
For garnish
Chopped cilantro
green onions, chopped
shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F. Take the tomatillos, onions and jalapeno(s) and place in a sauce pan with enough water to cover. Add salt and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Strain off broth and place vegetable mix into a blender; add chicken broth to cover by about 1" and blend well. Add about 1/4 cup of sour cream and 1/4 cup cream of chicken soup to the blender with the cilantro and blend again. Reserve 1/2 cup.

In a large bowl add turkey, 3/4 cup sour cream mixed with 1/2 tsp cumin, rest of the can of cream of chicken soup and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese and 1 cup cheddar cheese, and 1/2 cup of the tomatillo sauce. Mix well. Cook tortillas until they are soft (today I wrapped them in foil and put them in a 350F degree oven for 15 minutes, but other times I will spray them with Pam cooking spray and bake them on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 3-4 minutes; also you can soft fry them in oil OR you can soften them in the sauce....just heat it back up to a low boil and dip the tortillas in the sauce until soft...be careful because it's easy to get it too soft and they will break apart). Put about 1/2 to 1 cup of sauce in bottom of 13"x9" baking pan. Dip each tortillas briefly in blender of sauce and fill with turkey filling. Roll up and place, seam side down, in baking dish.

When they are all filled and in the pan(s), pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and bake, until bubbling, about 30 minutes. Halfway through cooking I place the cheese for garnishing all over and continue baking. When the enchiladas are cooked, removed from oven and garnish with green onions & cilantro. Bon Apetit! NOTE: Next time I won't put as much sauce over the enchiladas as it can make the tortillas too soft...but it was YUMMY!!!

Turkey Cooking Instructions

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by friends and family. I know we did. My mom and dad come over, and Jake and Elizabeth came over with our precious granddaughter, Nevaeh, who decided to START WALKING! What a treasure that was to witness! Doug and his new bride, Valerie, also came to dinner. Kyle and Beth are living with us now (since August) and so our table was full. I really wish the oldest, Dustin, could have been there with his family, but they had their own wonderful Thanksgiving dinner in Texas, where they live.

I cooked an 18 lb turkey this year and it came out perfect, as always. I have never understood why people get up before the crack of dawn and cook their turkey to death for hours and hours! I will provide you with simple cooking instructions that will turn out a beautiful, moist turkey every time. I also made mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, regular stuffing,

green bean casserole

(I make this under protest every year but my husband LOVES the stuff and insists on it - thankfully, Beth made it for me this year and spared me!lol), sesame soy-glazed green beans (I FORGOT to take a picture but the recipe is below), roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon pecan crunch (recipe below),

corn pudding (recipe below),

and wheat and white rolls. My mother had brought a roast and her wonderful roast gravy as well, so we had a table full of food! No one left hungry. Now onto the cooking instructions for your turkey:

ROASTED TURKEY (UNSTUFFED)

18 - 20 lb (8.165 - 9.072 kg) Turkey (UNSTUFFED!!)
2 yellow onions, chopped coarsely
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 celery, chopped
2 cups (480 ml) water OR chicken stock (I prefer chicken stock)
2 TBSP (30 ml) melted butter

Preheat oven to 250F (121.1C). Place vegetables and broth or water in the bottom of the roasting pan. Place rack over the vegetables and put turkey BREAST SIDE DOWN on the rack. Roast turkey (BREAST SIDE DOWN) at 250F (121.1C) for 3 hours. Turn turkey breast side UP and brush with 2 TBSP (30 ml) melted butter; roast for another hour. (It can be tricky flipping the turkey over - I use 2 wads of wet paper towels...you can also slide a long wooden spoon inside and lift and spin the turkey - this really is a 2 person job) Turn the heat up to 400F (204.4C) and roast for another hour. Make sure the meat in the thigh is at 175F (79.4C). Remove turkey from the oven and cover with foil. DO NOT carve the turkey for at least 20 minutes after removing from oven, to let the juices redistribute!!!!

My honey carving the turkey!