So last night two friends came over and brought with them the fixings for Margaritas! So I accommodated them by making my Guacamole and some Turkey Red Sauce Enchiladas. They were very happy and we all found it a fair trade!
Now some people have looked at my winter white enchilada post http://cookforrestcook.blogspot.com/2011/12/winter.html and have let me know that they think they are really good. In fact I have had at least two people I know of make them and with great success. That recipe came originally from a boy in the cast of one of the shows I did in Wisconsin. It was when I discovered that American casserole style enchiladas are really what I love.
Now enchiladas fall into 3 categories and people fall into three camps about them. First camp is red or green. In other words is your sauce base red or green chilli? The second camp is corn or flour or what type of tortillas do you use. The last is do you include dairy additions beyond the shredded cheese or none at all. Now I have made and had all of these different types. I tend to go for a red enchilda with maybe a suiza or "swiss" style when I eat out at a restaurant. Mostly thats because I find that alot of enchiladas in restaurants are too dry and the "swiss" or "Suiza" element helps with that. Oh, "Suiza" means that there is a sour cream sauce in addition to the red sauce base.
So my enchilada making experience began in the kitchen of our house in Reston, Virginia when my father's job took us north for a few years. Old El Paso had just come out in the grocery stores in force nationally and my Mom decided to give making Mexican at home a try. We often ate in the kitchen around the breakfast table on Friday nights. It was a family fun night where the foods were likely to be some form of ethnic food ( our attempt at branching out) and the conversation ran the gamut of whatever was happening in our worlds.
Since money was tight sometimes growing up ( navy Family) my Mother and Grandmother would find foods that would be entertaining as well as tasty and filling. My brother and I had taken quite a liking to mexican foods and they began looking at ways to make them at home. We started with tacos and continued with tostadas and burritos but the real challenge was to make really good enchiladas at home. We would buy a lot of cans of enchilada sauce and refried beans and start our meal from there. Mostly these were beef or chicken dishes sauced and cheesy and while they were really good they mostly provided a lot of fun in both the making and the eating departments.
As my culinary horizons widened over time I became aware that while ground beef and chicken was fun, there were other even dare I say, other options, that could satisfy even the most hard core beefy meaty cheesy savory seeker! So I developed a recipe for enchiladas that brought in major savory action but left out the beef. Believe me these are so "meaty" the way they come out you won't miss the beef.
Turkey Enchiladas in a Red Sauce Swiss Style
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped turkey meat (leftovers)
1 package Flour Tortillas ( 16 count)
1 medium onion
2 cups sour cream ( extra for garnish)
2 cup yellow cheddar cheese grated
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/4 cup salsa
1 tablespoon diced pickled jalapeno peppers (optional)
2 cans red enchilada sauce
1 small can sliced black California olives
1 small bunch sliced scallions ( 1/2 reserved for garnish)
1 small tomato diced
1 head of iceberg lettuce finely shredded
Method:
In a bowl mix together 1 cup cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream with turkey, spices salsa, peppers, and 1/2 can red sauce
Pour 1/2 can of the red sauce into the bottom of a baking dish spread out
Warm the Tortillas in a microwave to make them bendable
Fill each with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the mix till full but still rollable
Place them tightly into the baking dish in a row the last two may have to be tucked on the side
Pour the remaining sauce over the top and let fill in the pan
Spread 1 cup sour cream over the top
Top with cheddar, 1/2 of the black olives and some scallions
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 mins till top is starting to brown nicely.
Serve on a plate and garnish with lettuce tomato black olives and scallions. Place sour cream in a squeeze bottle and pipe all over the dish. Enjoy!
