Turkey Enchiladas

I just love enchiladas. Spicy, cheesy, saucy turkey enchiladas. And, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, you'll want to have this recipe close by.
I made these after hacking up a 12 pound turkey for stock. I cut off the breast and braised it to make these. 1 breast made 6 giant enchiladas. Of course, you can also use chopped up leftover turkey, or chicken, or game hens, or duck, or poisson, or quail, or guinea fowl. No big deal. Let's get started. Here's what you need:

• 4 - 5 cups cooked turkey (fowl)
• 1 onion
• 1 chopped carrot (for braising)
• 1 stalk chopped celery(for braising)
  Chicken broth (for braising)
  (2) 14 ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes (if you don't have them, don't sweat it. Use any diced tomatoes).
  
• 2 (or more) Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 2 big (or more) Tbls Hatch green chiles
• 1 cup frozen corn (I used 3 handfuls. Is that a cup?).
• 2 Tbls Cumin (One generous palmful)
• 2 Tbls Mexican seasoning mix (about a palmful)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• 2 or so cups prepared enchilada sauce
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used the Mexican blend)
• 6 burrito size tortillas (I used flour because I like them better, and I have trouble with the corn tortillas breaking apart).

O.K. Lets braise the turkey breast. Skip this step if using leftover turkey.

1. 
   
   Place raw turkey breast in a large skillet. Season it up with Cumin, salt pepper and Mexican seasoning mix.
   
2. 
   
   Add (1) 14 oz can diced tomatoes, 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped carrot, 1 stalk chopped celery and 2 smashed garlic cloves.
   
3. 
   
   Add enough chicken broth to pan to barely cover the breast.
   
4. 
   
   Bring it to a boil, then turn heat down so liquid is simmering. Put a lid on the pan and simmer for about an hour and a half.
   

I don't have pictures of the process, because I wasn't going to post this dish. I started taking pics after the breast was braised.

This is the liquid the turkey braised in.

Fetch out the turkey and onions, and leave all the rest of the veg in the pan.

I wish you could see how moist this white meat is after braising!

Now, take the turkey  and chop it up. Taste it to see if it needs more seasoning.

If you are using left overs, season up the turkey now. Add 1 chopped onion, cumin, Mexican seasoning, salt and pepper. I like my enchiladas kind of not chunky, so I go ahead and shred the meat with a couple of forks.

Put the turkey in a big bowl.

Add 1 additional can of diced tomatoes, drained. I would have used fire roasted tomatoes, but I didn't have any.

Open up a can of green chiles. I put in 2 heaping Tbls. If you like more heat, put more in. Freeze whatever is left in a labeled ziploc bag.

Open up a can of Chipotle peppers in adobo. I chopped 2 of them up and threw them in. If you like more heat, add more. Freeze remainder in a labeled ziplock bag.

Taste the filling. Re-season with salt, pepper, chipotle chiles, cumin and hatch chiles, as necessary. Now, throw in 3 handfuls of frozen corn. You'll want to taste before you add the frozen corn..Munching down on a frozen kernel will ruin the experience.

Mixture should look something like this.

Let's put these babies together. I like this Colorado made sauce, but any will work just fine.
 
Pour some enchilada sauce in a pie plate.



And pour some enchilada sauce in the dish you will bake the enchiladas in. (I'm pretty sure that's a dangling participle. I'm sorry, Ms. Kennedy, my 7th grade grammar teacher).

Now, dip the tortilla in the sauce in the pie pan, both sides.

Time to fill it up. I started out with a big spoon. Wasn't working for me. So, I just dug in with my hand. What fit in my hand is what I put into the tortilla. If the mixture is too moist, just squeeze out the excess. After all, it's in your hand already.

Add some cheese.

Roll it up. Repeat as many times as you have filling.

Pour more sauce over. Dry enchiladas are not delicious.

Top with cheese. Be generous.

Open up a can of olives. I didn't have any, so I borrowed a can from my good friend and neighbor, Margie. Thank God for friends!

So I grabbed a handful and sliced them up. And threw them on top.

Then, it was time to bake these yummy, cheesy, spicy, bites of deliciousness. 350 degrees (F) until cheese melts and sauce is bubbly, about 30 minutes.
Before serving, top with chopped green onions and cilantro.

Chop up a tomato or two and sprinkle it over the top.

A little sour cream and guacamole on the side sends this dish over the top.

Now, serve this with a side of beans and rice. Do I need to post that?

This one heapin' helpin' of comfort food.