I take full advantage of the couponing season at my local grocer wherein I can score up to a 25lb free turkey for every $150 I spend; last October-November I strategically purchased our groceries and brought four turkeys home. Friday we ate roasted turkey for dinner, and then processed the bird to provide a heaping helping of turkey and two crockpots full of simmering broth to freeze for later. For me this use of the whole animal is both due to the health benefits and unsurpassed quality of homemade foods, and to my desire to ensure nothing goes wasted--not even the marrow.
In anticipation of a dinner party for my son Koa and his friends, I decided to enlist his help and whip up a big batch of turkey enchiladas. Though not true to authentic enchilada form they were inexpensive and made for a great afternoon with my oldest son. These bad boys were easy to make, used up a ton of things I had on hand, called for easily accessed and affordable ingredients to fill the gaps, and were good enough to encourage a gaggle of teenagers to eat 15lbs worth—beneficial or bad for them, you choose.
In addition they freeze easily, so eating well on an otherwise busy night is within reach for a family like mine or a friend in need of a porch-drop pick-me-up.
What we used:
 |
| Affordable, easy-to-access ingredients |
shredded cojack
onions
mushrooms
minced garlic
spices like salt, pepper, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, cumin
4” corn tortillas
enchilada sauce of your choice
refried beans
roasted hatch green chile
sweet potato/pear/apple/pumpkin spice butter*
*made in my crockpot, one-of-a-kind sweet, earthy taste.
What we did:
2. sauté onions and some of the spices to near-carmelization
3. sauté mushrooms with minced garlic and remaining spices
4. coat inside of baking dish with enchilada sauce
5. begin with a bottom layer of tortillas, first dipped in enchilada sauce to coat them, only slightly overlapping 6. continue to layer ingredients in any number of tasty orders [gob of beans, sprinkle of mushrooms, tortillas; turkey, cheese, onions, tortillas; beans, chiles, spoonful of earthy jam, tortillas; etc.], placing a little cheese and sauce on each layer— be sure to dip all the layering tortillas in enchilada sauce
7. end with a top layer of tortillas dipped in sauce and topped with cheese
8. bake covered with foil at 400 for an hour, give or take, or until hot in the center
9. remove foil cover for final 10min of baking or place momentarily under broiler until cheese is bubbly and golden
10. let it sit 5min before cutting into it
11. enjoy
As a tip, you could do this process with pretty much any meat, cheese, veggie, tortilla and/or enchilada sauce and it would likely turn out undeniably delicious on the cheap. If you don’t think so, I recommend inviting a table full of teenagers to taste-test for you. They’ll make you feel like a regular Julia Child.
1 comment
Mmmm looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Post a Comment