Monday, December 5, 2016

Enchilada Casserole with Goat Cheese and Mushrooms

We had some leftover turkey, and our son/farm hand suggested enchiladas. I had a recipe that I used when he was growing up, which was really just turkey and sauteed onions with corn tortillas and sauce, and that was all I was going to do. But he pitched in, and they turned out amazing. Now we make it this way all the time.  

Enchilada Casserole with Goat Cheese and Mushrooms 

Filling:
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, minced (optional)
8 ounces mushrooms (shitake, baby bellas, whatever looks delicious), chopped
1 Tbs. olive oil
4 ounces goat cheese (or feta or queso fresco)
2 cups leftover diced turkey, browned ground beef, or vegetarian protein source of your choosing ( I used homemade refried beans the other night, and it was delicious)

1 package corn tortillas

Sauce:
1/4 C olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. flour
3 Tbs. chili powder
1/2 # tomatoes (2 small/medium or 1 medium/large)
2 C water
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp dried oregano

Start the sauce in a pot with a diameter larger than the tortillas.  Trust me, it will make your life easier later on. Heat the olive oil, then stir in the garlic, flour, and chili powder. Stir this for a few minutes. In the meantime, put the tomatoes through the blender. Add the blended tomatoes, water, cumin, and oregano to the chili powder mixture.  Stir over heat until slightly thickened. Then turn the heat down and let it rest while you prepare the filling.

In a skillet, heat the olive oil, then add the onions. Saute for a few minutes until they start to turn translucent. Add the bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and mushrooms, stirring frequently until the mushrooms are done. Stir in the turkey, beans, or beef and let that heat for a few minutes. Take the turkey mixture off the stove and add the goat cheese.  Stir until it is melted in.

Now it's time to put it all together.


Put a little sauce on the bottom of an oblong casserole dish.  Dip the tortillas into the sauce (this is where you are glad that the pot is large enough to dip them in quickly and pull them out). Arrange tortillas on the bottom of the dish, to cover.  You may have to be a little creative about breaking up the tortillas to cover the corners or the gaps around the edges. The number of tortillas you use depends on the size of your dish.

Then add the filling.

Cover the filling with more tortillas (that have also been dipped in sauce). Pour more sauce over the top, making sure not to leave any tortilla sauceless. (You may have extra sauce, depending on the size of the dish and the number of tortillas.)

If you would like, you can cover the top with Mexican or cheddar cheese.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

If you would prefer to fill the tortillas individually, you can put the filling down the center of each tortilla (that has been dipped in sauce), then roll it up and place it into the casserole dish (which has a little sauce in it). Once you have aligned the enchiladas beautifully in the casserole dish, pour more sauce over the top, and sprinkle with cheese, if you like.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.