Leftover Turkey?

Another Thanksgiving come and gone, but the turkey leftovers are still around. If you're like me, you get pretty tired of plain old turkey, especially after the gravy is gone! So here is a turkey recipe that you can make now, quickly, with no cooking, and freeze for later (like the week before Christmas when you are running around like mad, trying to get everything done).



Easy Turkey Enchiladas



1 1/2 cups chopped cooked turkey

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup jarred salsa of your choice

8 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese, divided

6 flour tortillas (6-inch)

Cooking spray



Combine salsa and tomato sauce, cumin, and chili powder in a small bowl. In a large bowl, combine turkey, cream cheese, half of salsa mixture, and half of shredded cheese. Scoop about 1/3 cup of turkey mixture onto each tortilla. Roll up and place seam-side down into a 9x9 square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spray the tops of the enchiladas lightly with cooking spray, then cover with the rest of the salsa mixture and top with the rest of the cheese.



If baking right away, bake covered at 375 for 10 minutes, then uncoverd for 10 more minutes. If you are freezing for later, cover tightly and freeze. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, then bake at 375, 15 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered, or until heated through.

The kids absolutely loved the squash recipe. More fall recipes coming soon...

Check out my website www.simplygourmetvt.com

Preparing for an Avalanche of Winter Squash

I've finally gotten around to starting my blog, and there are so many things I could be writing about, in fact, had meant to write about all summer, what with all the beautiful produce we've been getting from the CSA at Maple Wind Farm this summer. But alas, summer has gotten away from me and although we are still getting beautiful greens, potatoes, beets, etc., there is now the issue of what to do with the overabundance of winter squash.

Here's the issue: my kids don't love it. Well, to be more blunt, they just won't touch the stuff. And these are kids that love veggies. They even eat kale! So how will I get them to eat all of the butternut, delicata, acorn, kabocha, pie pumpkins, and whatever other squash we get over the next few weeks? The easy answer is that I should just puree it all, freeze it, and use it for pumkin bread, which they do like. But, always up for a challenge, I am determined to find some ways to prepare winter squash that my kids will love.

My first attempt will be using kabocha squash as a substitues for sweet potatoes in their favorite casserole:

Pecan Crumble Sweet Potato Casserole (recipe originally from The Pampered Chef)

5 pounds sweet potatoes (4-5 large potatoes) (or in this case, a large kabocha squash)
1/2 cup (125 mL) butter, divided
1 cup (250 mL) coarsely crushed graham crackers
1 cup (250 mL) pecan halves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (125 mL) packed brown sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground black pepper


Preheat oven to 350°F . Prick sweet potatoes with fork. Microwave on HIGH 18-20 minutes or until very soft. (Alternatively, bake the sweet potatoes for 1 hour 15 minutes at 375. OR if using squash, bake until very tender). Let stand until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, melt 5 tbsp (75 mL) of the butter. Combine melted butter, graham crackers, pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl; set aside.
Peel sweet potatoes and place in large bowl. Mash sweet potatoes with remaining 3 tbsp (45 mL) of the butter, salt and black pepper. Spoon sweet potato mixture into baking dish; top evenly with pecan mixture. Bake 20-25 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

12 servings

I'll keep you posted on whether the kids will eat this one!