what to do with leftover turkey
a great fall salad ; turkey enchiladas ; the joy of eating with friends
happy friday! i hope you all had a lovely week. we’re solidly into fall weather now, and it’s getting chilly out! i am so happy. but that also means it’s time for seasonal colds, which i caught this week. what i thought was a scratchy throat due to sleeping in a chilly house (we left our windows open on a nice day and forgot to turn out heat back on!) lingered long enough for me to go to the doctor. it’s nothing major and i’ll be back to it in no time, but it’s a bit of a bummer for sure.
do you have fun weekend plans? we have plans to go visit my parents and wil’s wonderful aunt (who i totally claim as my own!) for an auburn game. is there any better place to be when you’re a little under the weather than at your parents’ house? i think not.
turkey enchiladas
since we had our friendsgiving last week, we had some leftover turkey. i decided to make turkey and cheese enchiladas! they turned out so good that i figured i’d share them as a great option for when you have a ton of leftover turkey in a few weeks that you have no clue what to do with. so bookmark this recipe for after thanksgiving! (you can, of course, use cooked chicken if you want to make them now. they’re so easy!) *to make vegetarian, sub black beans.
ingredients:
1.5 cups cooked turkey, diced (or chicken or black beans)
1 cup shredded cheddar, plus more for topping
6 tortillas (we used the siete cassava tortillas, but flour or corn would work)
red or green enchilada sauce
1/4 of an onion, chopped
dash of cumin
dash of chili powder
how to make:
saute the onion and spices over medium heat in a bit of oil.
once fragrant, turn off heat and add your protein to coat in the flavors. (if using black beans, simmer them with the onions and spices)
preheat oven to 375.
in a dry pan on medium heat, lightly warm the tortillas until they are bendy.
using a spatula, spread a few tbsp of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a glass baking dish.
then take a tortilla and put some turkey in it, top with cheese, then roll it up. place seam side down in the glass dish.
repeat with the rest of your tortillas.
cover the enchiladas with the rest of the sauce, then sprinkle cheese on top.
bake at 375 for 15 min, then turn the heat to broil for 4 minutes.
enjoy! serve with avocado, pico, sour cream, and your favorite mexican sides.
a great, simple fall salad
this salad was easy to throw together at work and had all the yummy flavors of fall. here’s what to do: chop up some cooked chicken and warm it up. using your fingers, crumble some cranberry-cinnamon goat cheese and smash some sweet & spicy pecans with the back of a spoon. combine everything on top of some fresh greens, and then top with your favorite vinaigrette. easy peasy and delicious.
assignment of the week:
did you know that one of the most common attributes of the blue zones — the places on earth where communities live the longest — is that they often eat with others? friends, family, groups of people come together to sit and break bread and laugh and talk and drink and enjoy. according to this article from the blue zones website:
“As a rule, people in the blue zones regions don’t eat alone, standing up , or with the other hand on the steering wheel. Ikarians, in particular, are known to eat slowly while holding conversations with family, a ritual good for building not only stronger family ties but also healthier bodies. Elevating the act of eating to a social event may help you enjoy and digest your food better by making your meals a time of sharing and being together with friends and family.”
we make it a point to eat with others, and to linger for a while over the dinner table to chat and finish the last sips of wine. i was reminded of just how good it feels to commune with others this way at our friendsgiving party last weekend. though it’s something we try to do often, it brought me back to the real meaning of food and community in our home.