Happy Holidays! Leftover Turkey Enchiladas

Hi again!

I know, really close to my last posting, ain't it? But, I wanted to get this up so people might still have a chance to try it out while they still have leftovers. And yes, you read that title correctly: enchiladas made with leftover turkey.

While planning out meals for the week, I decided to make enchiladas. There's a method on allrecipes.com that I'm fond of, so I decided I'd make those. I even considered blogging about it as a F.E.A.S.T., because it is rather simple to make and it tastes quite good. But! Then the idea came up to make the enchiladas using some of the leftover turkey in the fridge and, since the method was designed with leftover chicken in mind anyway, I decided that I just had to try it out.

Without further ado, here we go!

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
1 tbs butter
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic power
1 4oz can chopped green chiles
1 10.75oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups cubed leftover Thanksgiving turkey
1 cup (or a little more!) shredded cheddar/colby jack cheese, divided
1/4 cup milk
6 fajita size flour tortillas


THE METHOD!!!
To begin, reheat your turkey; this can be done via the microwave or in your skillet. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350, and spritz a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

In your skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the green onions with a little salt until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add your garlic powder, then stir in the chiles, soup, and sour cream and combine well. Pull about 3/4 of the mixture out into a soup bowl and set aside. To the 1/4 mixture that's left, toss in your turkey and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Combine well.

Fill each of the six tortillas with 1/6 of the mixture, roll up, and place seem side down in the baking dish. Pour the milk into the soup bowl with the reserved mixture and stir to combine. Poor this new mixture over the tortillas. Be sure to get even coverage. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup (or a little more!) of cheese, again, going for even coverage.

Bake in your heated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the cheese is lightly browned and nicely bubbly.

Ok, I'm gonna level with you: this worked surprisingly well. The turkey actually tasted really good when combined with the cheese and chiles, so I think this is something everyone should try. I'll just let the results speak for themselves.

As always, thanks for reading. Go forth and eat well!

Elixer Soup

Hey all!

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend. I know I did. I spent the time with family and good friends, and I always consider that a great time. Naturally, since this weekend is host to one of the biggest meals of the year, it also means I spent a good deal of time in the kitchen.

Now, I know what you might be expecting: some recipe or another about turkey or stuffing or homemade cranberry sauce. Well, I decided to forgo that idea. Everyone has their own take on Thanksgiving, so trying to impress my own opinions on the subject seemed like it might prove difficult. Instead, I'm going to share a recipe I decided to try for lunch over the weekend: Elixer Soup!

For those who haven't noticed, if you look on the right side of this page, you can see a link to another blog entitled "The Geeky Chef." I love this blog. The creator like to take the food that appears in video games, nerdy tv shows/movies, and geeky literature and turn it into real-life food. And I have to say The Geeky Chef does a damn fine job too. If you like all things nerdy, you should go check it out!

But I digress. I decided to try making The Geeky Chef's version of Elixer Soup from The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker. In the game, after healing Link's grandmother with a faerie, she makes him his favorite soup as a way to tell him what a good grandson he is. And it is the best healing item ever created in a Zelda game. It restores all of Link's health and gives him a power boost. And you get two servings in one bottle! Trust me, it's awesome.

This version of the soup uses a ton of healthy vitamin C rich veggies in a base of savory chicken broth, and it sure to give you a boost! My take on the soup changes things up just a bit, but you can follow along with the original here. Let's take a look, shall we?

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
6 tbs butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped (or about 3 good tsp)
1 lb yellow squash, chopped
1 acorn squash
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
Juice of 1 lemon
Hot sauce (Tobasco, Frank's, etc.)
Salt & pepper to season
Shredded Parmesan cheese

THE METHOD!!!
Cut the acorn squash in half and remove all the seeds. Place the squash cut side down in a microwave-safe dish with about a half-inch to an inch of water. Place the gourd in said hotbox and heat for five minutes. The goal here is to soften the squash enough to remove all the good stuff from the skin. Scoop out the meat with a spoon, or else cut into strips and peel with a paring knife. Chop the squash as you did the other veggies.

Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Drop in your onion and garlic with a little salt & pepper, and saute until softened, or about ten minutes. Once this is done, add the remaining veggies and stir it all up to distribute everything evenly. Add your chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once you hit a boil, drop the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until all the veggies have softened.

Here comes the tricky part. You need to puree everything down to a soup consistency. This can be accomplished one of two ways. If you have an immersion or stick blender, you're golden; use it. If yours, like mine, is broken, fear not! Pull out your trusty blender! The soup is hot, so work in batches. I did mine in three. Ladle about 1/3 of the soup into your blender.

Don't seal it tight though; the heat and steam will cause difficulties. Most blender lids have a piece in the middle that can be removed for adding ingredients during the blending process. Remove that and cover with a towel. This way, you don't have an airtight seal, but you're still protected from flying soup. Blend each batch down to a soupy consistency, then transfer to another dish to hold. Repeat this process with the remaining soup, and return it all to the pot.

Now, stir in your lemon juice, add hot sauce if you like (just enough for a little kick!), and more salt & pepper if you feel it's needed. Serve with a little Parmesan sprinkled on top and a good loaf of sourdough bread on the side!

This soup is delicious. It has a nice smooth consistency, but with enough body and texture to still have that hearty feel. The veggies and the savory chicken broth give it that warm comfort-food taste, and the butter and onions and garlic make everything just smell heavenly, but the acidity in the lemon juice brings a brightness and a lightness that you wouldn't otherwise expect in a pure vegetable soup. It's absolutely wonderful. If you get a chance, I would highly recommend trying this out the next time you feel like making a nice bowl of soup.

I had a lot of fun with this recipe, and I hope y'all do as well. As always, thanks for reading. Comments and thoughts are always appreciated. Go forth and eat well!