leftover remix: turkey enchiladas!

The hubby and I were looking forward to turkey day this year. Man, oh, man, the good thing about people not eating the turkey was having so much leftovers! Why? to make turkey enchiladas, of course! This dish is soooo freakin' tasty and is a great alternative to casserole or sandwiches.

For Thanksgiving this year, the hubby decided to forgo the usual canned cranberry sauce and decided to make a huge batch of cranberry salsa. We made this salsa last year when we experimented making enchiladas using our usual recipe. Since he didn't have a high tolerance for spicy heat, we opted for pablano peppers for a milder salsa to keep the flavor or chiles but without the mouth-burning heat of jalapenos. Turns out, that was a great idea!

You would think that the Mexican flavors of the enchilada would clash against the festive flavors of cranberry and turkey. In actuality, it actually blends together with the turkey and the tart cranberry salsa is perfect with the pablano and cilantro. If Thanksgiving had a Latin version, this would be it!

I can see a pattern developing here, lol. Right when I started packing up the turkey, he asked whether of not we were going to have enchiladas the next few days. I can see why he loves it so much. Not only is this good, but it's so festive looking on a plate! Heck, even on sad paper plates, this looks super tasty! Huzzah for leftover turkey!

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Turkey Enchiladas with Cranberry Salsa
(adapted from Laura's Best Recipes and Food Network)

For the Salsa:
1 (12.oz) bag fresh cranberries, divided
1 cup sugar
zest from a large orange
2 tbsp water
1/2 pablano pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

For the Enchiladas:
extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ancho chile powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups turkey broth
handful chopped cilantro leaves
2 (14.oz) cans green or red enchilada sauce
3 cups shredded turkey
3 rounded tbsp chopped green chiles
6 large flour or corn tortillas
1 to 2 cups Mexican cheese blend
salt and pepper, to state

light sour cream
chopped tomatoes
finely chopped romaine lettuce
shredded cheese blend

 
Make the salsa:
Empty bag of cranberries into saucepan and reserving 1 1/2 cups to a small bowl. Add sugar, zest, and water to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the cranberries burst, about 12 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and stir in 1/2 cup reserved cranberries. Add sugar, then salt and pepper to taste.

Chop remaining 1 cup cranberries in a food processor and add to cranberry sauce. Stir in pablano pepper, lime juice, honey, and salt. Let cool to room temperature then stir in cilantro. Set aside.

Make the enchiladas:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and ancho chile powder then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on flour and stir to ensure flour doesn't burn.

Gradually add stock to make a sauce. Continue stirring over low simmer until flour cooks and liquid thickens. Add green chiles, chopped cilantro, and shredded turkey. Stir in 2 tbsp of enchilada sauce and continue to cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Mixture should be thick, but not runny.

Take a large foil-lined baking pan and lightly coat with cooking spray. Cover the bottom of the pan with a light layer of enchilada sauce. Take a tortilla and briefly toast both sides on a griddle pan. Put a scoop (about 1/2 a cup) of the shredded turkey mix on top of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Place the rolled tortilla in the baking dish and repeat for the remaining tortillas.

With the remaining enchilada sauce, pour in between and over tortillas then top with shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese has melted. Serve topped with lettuce, tomato, and sour cream with cranberry salsa on the side.

the usual suspect.

When it comes to breakfast, i like to experiment with things I haven't tried. Pancakes... stacks... oatmeal... sandwiches... I have a whole pinterest board dedicated to the early morning meal. Problem? Well...let's just say that waking up early isn't my forte. And plus, even if I did wake up early enough to indulge on breakfast, the hubbby isn't into fancy-schmancy in the morning. In fact, most of the time he asks for one thing: Breakfast burritos.

I actually didn't start making these until about a few months ago. It was an early morning and I had asked him what he wanted to eat. He kind of shrugged and said, "Whatever...". So I sighed and went to the kitchen to try and conjure up some magic. I wanted something easy and tasty but still a little challenging.

So I started with sliced onions, added some garlic, then went to grab some eggs. I spied the parsley and I decided to put some of those in too. Seasoned the eggs like my mom would, then scrambled it all together. The whole things still seemed too plain to me so i kind of let my eyes wander in the kitchen and that's when i saw the tortillas. Of course! Burritos!

So with that thought, I wiped the pan clean, toasted a few, added cheese, and rolled them up with the eggs. Added some salsa and breakfast was ready. Ever since then, this has been the hubb's favorite breakfast item. :)

To change it up, I sometimes use bacon... sometimes sausages... sometimes whatever deli meat we have on hand. Whatever the result, he's always happy to dig in whenever these burritos are served for breakfast. Now, if only I could get him to try some savory oatmeal...

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Hearty Breakfast Burritos
(makes 3 to 4 burritos)

1/2 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup protein of choice (bacon, sausage, etc...optional)
3 extra large eggs
1 tbsp milk
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil
shredded Mexican 4-cheese blend
flour tortillas
salsa, for serving

On a large skillet, drizzle some olive oil and saute onion and garlic until slightly browned. Add your protein of choice, if using, and cook until proteins are no longer raw. Drain any fat then remove from heat momentarily.

In a bowl or a glass measuring cup, combine egg, milk, parsley, and spices. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and beat together until well combined. Return skillet to heat and pour egg mixture over the contents of the pan. Let the eggs cook for up to a minute or until the bottom starts to set, then flip by sections. Repeat the flipping every few seconds until the eggs are firm but still moist. Remove from heat, transfer to a plate, and set aside.

Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel and reduce heat to low. Place a tortilla on the skillet and toast, being careful not to let it burn. Turn the tortilla over and quickly sprinkle a handful of cheese on the top of the tortilla. Let sit for a few seconds to heat the cheese, then transfer to a plate. Top with a portion of the egg mixture then roll into burritos. Repeat for remaining egg mixture.

To serve, cut burritos diagonally in half and serve with salsa on the side.

viva, mexico!

Next stop...Mexico!

Okay, so for tonight's theme, I decided to make it easy for myself and do a no-brainer. Chicken fajitas is one of our favorite things to make. We have it about every two weeks or so, so it's fairly common 'round these parts. Heck, even the hubby's made them before (btw, it's rare to see him in the kitchen nowadays...he cooked a lot more when we were just dating, lol).

For these fajitas, I found a recipe online that had some ideal ingredients that I was looking for. But being the gal that I am (and being from California to boot!), I decided to change the ingredients list...namely reducing the Italian dressing and adding more "authentic" Mexican flavors in the mix. It's a lot of things going on in the marinade, but this works for me and the hubbs. Usually, since it's just me and him, I halve the recipe so that we won't have too much leftovers. Oh, and did I forget to mention that this goes great with a couple of cervezas? Olé!

Chicken Fajitas
(adapted from Plain Chicken)

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp bottled Italian dressing
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ancho chile powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cornstarch
2 large bay leaves
4 to 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into strips (about 4 lb.)

1 large onion, sliced
1 medium green pepper, sliced
1 medium red pepper, sliced
salt and pepper
olive oil

flour or corn tortillas, taco or fajita size
mexican four cheese blend
light sour cream

Whisk together first 12 ingredients. Pour into a large zip-top plastic freezer bag then add the chicken and bay leaves. Seal and give the bag a few shakes to evenly coat the chicken. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours up to overnight.

When ready to cook, remove from fridge 30 minutes prior to use. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high then add peppers and onions. Let sear for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken with the marinade and reduce heat to medium. Cook until chicken is no longer pink and sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

To serve, top warm tortilla with chicken mixture, some cheese, and a dollop of sour cream. I take mine with added cilantro, jalapenos, and hot sauce!

fishy business.

feeding my husband can be a little tricky sometimes. it's not that he's a picky eater...it's just that he knows what he likes and it's hard for him to like something that he's had a bad experience with before. like couscous, for example. he really hates the stuff. for him, the textures are weird and the taste is icky. whereas me, i freakin' love couscous!

another thing that he has a hard time eating is cilantro. while i grew up with having lots of cilantro in my diet, it was almost non-existent in his. he really could care less for the stuff. the same goes with fish tacos. he just never ate one he liked, no matter how many times he had it. so when i saw this recipe, i knew that i really wanted to try it for our "fishy friday" on our weekly dinner routine. there was a lot of different but familiar things going on and i really liked the use of red cabbage. i scaled waaaay back on the cilantro so that it's more of a hint and i tweaked the recipe to suit our taste. the result? a whopping success!! we've had this twice now and he gobbles this up every time. that's a win for me and definitely a win for him!

 

Crispy Fish Tacos
(adapted from Delicious Shots)

Corn Salad: 
2 ears fresh corn, husked with silks removed (or 1 can vacuum-packed super sweet corn) 
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped 
1/2 red or green bell pepper, finely chopped 
1 medium tomato, finely chopped 
1 tbsp chopped cilantro (or more, to taste) 
1 to 2 sprigs italian parsley, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil 
1 to 2 tbsp lime juice 
salt and pepper to taste 
1/4 tsp cumin 
1/4 tsp paprika 

Avocado Crema: 
1 very ripe avocado 
1/4 cup light sour cream 
1 tbsp lime juice 
1 tbsp chopped cilantro 
1 sprig of italian parsley, chopped
sprinkle of cumin 
salt and pepper to taste 

Fish Tacos: 
3 firm white fish fillet (like tilapia or pollock), cut into strips 
1 cup flour 
1/4 cup corn starch 
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
1/2 tsp paprika 
1/2 tsp garlic powder 
1/2 tsp onion powder 
beer from 1 bottle 
salt and pepper 
flour or corn tortillas 
red cabbage, finely shredded 
vegetable oil for frying 
taco or hot sauce for topping 

For the Corn Salad:
Heat grill to high and grill the corn until charred on all sides. When ready, remove the kernels with a sharp knife. (If using canned corn, skip the grilling part.) In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and season accordingly to taste. Cover and set aside for thirty or so minutes to let marinate.

For the Avocado Crema:
Puree all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Season to taste. Set aside for thirty or so minutes to marinate.

To make the Fish Tacos:
In a small mixing bowl whisk together the flour, corn starch, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Add just enough of the beer to make a thick batter and whisk until smooth. The mix should look like thick pancake batter.

In a skillet, add vegetable oil about to 2-inches deep and heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Season the fish with salt and pepper, dip the fish strips into the batter and carefully place in the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. To assemble the tacos place one piece of fried fish* in a warm tortilla and garnish with cabbage, avocado crema, corn salad, and taco or hot sauce. Serve immediately.

*also, the batter works well for a shrimp taco version too! :)

going south in the morning.

chilaquiles was one of the first things that i learned when i was in home economics waaaay back in grade school. i remember my teacher, mrs. morehead (yeas...she got a lot of slack for her last name) was this quiet little lady with a soft voice and with a patience of a nun. i went to public school so i found that that there were a lot of slackers in that class that just wanted to give her such a hard time. interestingly enough, though...when it came to making food, they were all ears. probably because they not only get to cook whatever it is that they made...they got to eat it too. :)

back to chilaquiles...they were definitely not something that i've ever heard of when i was younger. fried corn tortillas, tomato sauce, and then american cheese was how i thought they were usually made of. it wasn't until i tasted authentic chilaquiles that the home ec version didn't even come close to what it was supposed to be like! nonetheless, sometimes when i feel nostalgic and think of those home ec days, i think of mrs. morehead and the americanized mexican dish she all made us cook and eat.

my sister enjoying the fruits of our labor!

this dish isn't authentic by any means. it has some delicious leftover carnitas and fresh made corn tortialls from our local mexican market as well as some fresh made guacamole from the same place. not having any salsa in the house, we opted for some organic tomato sauce as a substitute, as well as some plain yogurt and chopped romaine as a topping. it was a very hearty, crispy, savory and tasty morning treat. :D

 

Egg Carnitas Chilaquiles
(makes about 3 to 4 servings)

2-3 cups corn tortillas, cut to about 1 inch wide
oil for frying
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 to 2 cups pork carnitas, roughly shredded
1 can organic tomato sauce
1/4 - 1/3 cup red chile salsa, plus more for topping
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup shredded spicy cheese mix or mexican cheese mix, plus more for topping
salt and pepper to taste
small head of romaine, cut into strips
guacamole
pico de gailo
plain yogurt

Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat until hot. Take the cut tortillas and carefully drop them into the oil (work in small batches if you have a small pan/pot). Fry them until golden brown and the tortillas are nice and crispy/crunchy. Drain on a paper towel and set aside.

Fry the onions in a little bit of oil and cook them until slightly browned. Add the carnitas and cook for an additional few minutes. Add the beaten egg and let sit for a couple of minutes. You want to make a kind of a scramble without over-mixing so there will be some nice pieces of egg later on. Now stir and cook the mixture for a little bit until the egg is mostly cooked then add the crispy corn tortillas.

Once the mixture is well mixed, add the can of tomato sauce making sure to coat all the tortilla chips. let cook for several minutes then add the red chile salsa, stirring to incorporate. salt and pepper to taste then stir the cheese in slightly. Remove from heat immediately as you want the tortillas in the chilaquiles to still be a little crunchy when you take a bite. serve topped with additional red chile salsa, cheese, lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo and yogurt.

jammin' with apricots.

one thing that i find that sits in my pantry is a bottle of jam or preserves. call me crazy, but i rarely eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. why? i have no idea...probably because it's a little too simple and i like me a challenge. not to say that making a kick ass pb&j sandwich won't be challenging, but i rarely have sliced bread in the house so that adds to the difficulty of things. and so now, i currently have both apricot and strawberry that's slowly inching it's way to expiration. lucky for me, i still have about november of next year before it goes bad.

so what to do? omgoogle, of course! using jam or preserves in cooking isn't a new thing for me. i've cooked with it before and it turned out pretty awesome. this time, after googling "apricot preserves" i stumbled on this recipe for grilled chicken. rosemary? apricot? winner!!

followed the recipe ingredients and added some paprika (just because it's my favorite spice) and deviated from the directions entirely. the result? not too sweet, a little tangy, and very prominent rosemary flavor. definitely a permanent fixture in my recipe repoitoire. and so is the quesadillas i decided to make out of them!!

 

Apricot Rosemary Chicken
(adapted from A Kitchen Muse)

3 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary, divided (didn't divide mine)
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar (didn't have it, used light brown sugar and closer to 1 tbsp)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (used a peppercorn medley grinder, about 10-12 turns.)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1¼ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes (skipped this and left the chicken whole, about 2-3 medium-sized thigh meat)
¾ cup apricot preserves
3 tablespoons soy sauce (didn't have any regular, subbed ponzu soy sauce)
½ teaspoon hungarian sweet paprika

Take chicken and pierce with a fork all over (this is to help with the marinade process). Combine all other ingredients well and place everything in a ziploc bag. Marinate for 1-2 days, turning bag occasionally. When ready, take chicken from bag and drip off excess marinade. Grill until done and let rest ten minutes before serving. Discard marinade or cook in pan until reduced and thickened to drizzle over chicken. (this is where i deviated from the recipe. to see original instructions, click here.)

(serves two to three)  

(not my picture but it looks similar, lol.)

Apricot Rosemary Chicken Quesadilla with Wild Arugula and Marinade Reduction
(serves one)

1 Apricot Rosemary Chicken thigh
handful of wild arugula (i got mine from trader joe's, also labeled "wild rocket salad")
a couple handfuls of mexican four cheese blend
2 medium flour tortillas
½ cup marinade from the chicken, cooked until reduced and slightly thickened
chopped italian parsley (optional, for garnish)

1. roughly chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. set aside.

2. take one tortilla and toast on one side. flip over, add a handful of cheese just enough to cover the tortilla and let melt.

3. when melted, add the chopped chicken. drizzle wih a couple spoonfuls of marinade then add arugula. cover with the rest of the cheese and top with the other tortilla. let sit to slightly melt the new cheese then flip over. toast the bottom tortilla until crispy.

4. remove from heat, cut into fours, and drzzle top of quesadilla with remaning marinade reduction. garnish with chopped parsley if desired. enjoy! :D <