Turkey Enchiladas

With Thanksgiving and Christmas fast approaching, we're reaching that time of year where turkey dinners will become the norm around the country. While Turkey is a rather dry meat, it is very affordable and reheats well, making it a great leftover meat. The traditional turkey dinner involves turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberries, stuffing, and the like, and while I enjoy the traditional turkey dinner as much as the next guy, one or two "traditional" turkey dinners per year is more than enough for me. The problem, though, is that typically after one of these traditional turkey dinners there's enough turkey for several more days.

Rather than simply reheating that turkey and reserving with potatoes, gravy, and stuffing, why not turn that leftover turkey into something new? There are a variety of leftover turkey dishes I enjoy, but none as much as turkey enchiladas. They are quite tasty and easy to make, requiring about an hour in total for prep, cooking, and cooling. (If you are not a turkey fan or don't have turkey available but want to try out this recipe nevertheless, you can substitute chicken in for the turkey.)

To start, gather up the following ingredients:

• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, mashed and chopped
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 16oz can of diced tomatoes (I prefer picking up the "Mexican Style" canned diced tomatoes, which come with little bits of chopped up green chili)
• 1.5 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano (any kind of Italian seasoning works well here)
• Chili powder to taste (I usually use 2-3 teaspoons)
  
• Black olives
• Cooked turkey (or chicken)
• Corn tortillas
• Cheddar cheese

The first step is to make the enchilada sauce. To accomplish this start by heating the oil in a pan. Next, add the garlic, oregano, tomato paste, and most of the onion. Mix well and simmer for about five minutes. After five minutes add the vinegar, water, diced tomatoes, and chili powder. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes. Then set to thicken.

Once the sauce has thickened, grab a casserole dish and pour and 1/4 of the sauce into the bottom. Next, cut several of the corn tortillas into halves and quarters. The put quarters into the corners of the dish and the halves along the edges. Finally, cover the open area at the bottom with whole tortillas.

Pour more sauce into the dish, enough to cover the tortillas. Then heap generous portions of turkey, black olives, and cheese into the dish. The last step is to cover the dish with another layer of tortillas. For this step, dip the tortillas in the sauce to moisten the underside, and then cover the dish. Finally, pour the remaining sauce on the dish, add some more cheese, and a dash of oregano (or other Italian seasoning, like parsley).

Bake the enchiladas for 20 to 25 minutes uncovered at 350 degrees. Let cool and serve with sour cream and/or guacamole. Makes about 8 servings...

These turkey enchiladas are but one of many ways to better enjoy your leftover Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. Enjoy!