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!!!

Enchilada Casserole

I discovered this dish about 10 or more years ago. I have long forgotten how I discovered it, so I can't give credit to anyone. I recently went to a dear friend's house over the weekend for a mini scrapping retreat and offered to cook dinner for the ladies, and I made this dish:

Enchilada Casserole

3 lb ground beef
1 pkg (2 tubes) beef Chorizo (remove casing)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 pkgs taco seasoning
1 28 oz can Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce (+ small can, if needed)
2 dozen corn tortillas
1 8 oz pkg Velveeta Cheese
1 8 oz pkg Velveeta Cheese, Mexican variety hot or mild
1 16 oz sour cream
Vegetable oil for frying
1 8 oz can kidney beans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Darin grease (for additional fat drainage you can rinse with warm water). In a separate pan fry chorizo until cooked. It is hard to tell when this happens but when chorizo is watery it is done. Mix chorizo into ground beef mixture. Add taco seasoning and ¾ cup of enchilada sauce. Let simmer as long as possible, stirring frequently, anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour. Add kidney beans if desired. In 6-8” frying pan, fry tortillas in about ¼” vegetable oil. Fry soft (3-5 seconds per side). Place on paper towel and blot excess oil. (I actually put 6 tortillas on a baking sheet and spray each side lightly with Pam cooking spray and bake in oven for about 6 minutes - this softens the tortillas up nicely and saves you the mess of frying). Set aside. Cut cheese into cubes ½” x ½” and set aside. (Cut only 10-15 cubes of each style cheese as needed). Pour enchilada sauce into a flat pie plate.
To Layer: You will need a 10” x 13” x 2” baking dish. Spoon a small amount of meat mixture into pan to cover bottom. Dip tortillas in enchilada sauce. Layer tortillas on top of mixture to cover - up to 6 tortillas - 2 across and 3 down - they may overlap a bit. Layer meat mixture and then about 10 pieces of cheese (5 of each type), 3-5 dollops of sour cream. Continue layering until all the mixture is gone. I prefer to end the casserole with the cheese and sour cream on top. Cover with foil and bake until dish is hot and cheese is melted, approximately 20 - 30 minutes.