Turkey or Chicken Enchiladas

You probably are wondering,  "Why is she posting about turkey in January?)  I just couldn't wait until the next holiday to write about these great enchiladas I made after I got back from my mom's funeral in Germany.  They were real comfort food that I needed badly. 

On December 23, the day before I left for Germany, I roasted my organic turkey and it turned out juicy and very tasty. I put a butter herb mixture under the skin, massaged the outside of bird with more melted butter and put some herbs, a lemon, and an onion inside the cavity. I used the convection roast setting on the oven and basted the turkey with chicken broth and melted butter. I usually dry rub my turkey, but had no time to do so.  My husband and I had an early Christmas dinner and I left him the next day with a lot of turkey.

After feeding friends and family, he froze the leftover meat and now we are back to my enchiladas.  Most of you will have finished whatever turkey leftovers you had a while ago.  Since chicken and turkey are close relatives, you can easily substitute chicken for the turkey.  I have used tofu instead of chicken for my vegetarian friends. If you want this to be an easy and fast dinner, use canned sauce , although my sauce is easy to make and adds great flavor to the enchiladas. Use a rotisserie chicken instead of the turkey. The almonds add a nice crunch to the enchiladas and the salsa and sauce add flavor and taste. These enchiladas make great leftovers.

For the cheese, I used an organic  shredded “Three Cheese Mexican Blend” from Clover with Monterey jack, cheddar, and pepper jack cheese.  You can grate your own cheddar or gruyere cheese or any other blend.  For the salsa, I used a generic brand. Any old salsa will do. Costco has a nice organic salsa.  I make these enchiladas the year and usually use leftover rotisserie chicken. For my  vegetarian friends I use cubed tofu for protein. ​

The Filling

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 6 generous servings 

6 (9-inch) flour tortillas

Filling
3  cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken 
1 (14 ounce can) of chopped black pitted olives 
1 cup slivered almonds
½ to cup salsa
½ cup enchilada sauce
½ - 1 cup shredded cheese

Red enchilada sauce
3 TBS vegetable oil
3 TBS flour 
4 cups chicken stock
6-ounce can tomato paste 
¼ cup chili powder or more
1 ½ tsp. oregano 
1 ½ tsp. cumin
1 tsp. or more salt
1 tsp. garlic salt
½ tsp. sugar 



Garnish
sour cream or crème fraîche 
sliced avocados
salsa
cilantro

Directions

Sauce 
Heat oil, add flour, stirring for a minute until smooth. Add chili powder and cumin and cook for about a minute. Add tomato paste and oregano, stirring to combine. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil, add sugar and garlic salt. Reduce heat and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes . Add salt and adjust for seasoning.I  sometimes add a spritzer of tabasco or hot sauce. this all depends on your taste .

The filling
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. 

Assembling and baking the enchiladas
Spray two pans with cooking oil. I used a 13 x 9 inch dish.  Dip tortillas in hot sauce, put a strip of filling across each one, and roll tightly.  Put some sauce on the bottom of the dish. Place the enchiladas side-by-side in the pan, pouring the sauce over the enchiladas. Drizzle with ½ cup salsa of your choice, and sprinkle 1 cup shredded cheese over everything. Bake at 350º for about 20 minutes covered with foil and another 10 minutes uncovered until the sauce starts to bubble and the cheese is melted.
​
Garnish the enchiladas with a piece of avocado, some sour cream, salsa and cilantro.

Guten Appetit!
© Sunnycovechef