It’s been ages since I’ve blogged a recipe! I think at least over six months or so at any rate. I’ll share one of my favorites using ground turkey (a staple at our home, we don’t use/eat ground beef). I use the term enchiladas loosely since instead of wrapping the tortilla shells around the meat mix, I add some of the green sauce to the meat mixture & layer in a pan much like you would with lasagna.

The green chili sauce ingredients:
1 pound peeled (paper skin) and washed
tomatillos, cut into halves
2 medium white onions coarsely chopped.
1/4 cup olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, smashed or 2-3 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon mild chili powder (or to taste)
2 cups roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped Anaheim chilies
(Or)1 can diced green chilies — (4 oz)
3 cups mild chicken broth
Salt & pepper to taste

Green chili sauce instructions:
In a medium sauce pan, place the olive oil, onions & garlic and cook until soft. Add the broth, tomatillos, cumin, chili powder & green chilies & bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmering & cover, continue cooking until the tomatillos are soft. Cool until room temperature. At this point, you may refrigerate sauce for later or freeze. When ready, process sauce until smooth in a blender or food processor.

The “enchiladas” ingredients:
1.5 pounds of ground turkey
1/2 of a medium to large white onion
6-9 white corn soft shell tortillas
6-8 oz. of shredded queso cheese
12 oz. or so of the green chili enchilada sauce

Making the “enchiladas”:
Preheat the oven to 375° & grease lightly the bottom of a 8 by 12 inch baking pan. (Approximate pan sizing is fine, feel free to use what you have.)

Chop the white onion quite finely, I like to use my processor on the “chop” setting. Brown the ground turkey meat in a pan on the stove top. Once the meat is about half browned, add the chopped onion bits & finish cooking this meat/onion mixture. Add about 6 oz. of the green chili sauce to the meat mixture.

Put one layer of the tortilla shells in the bottom of the pan then layer on your meat mixture. Put a layer of the queso cheese on top of this, then another layer of the tortilla shells. I only layer once, but feel free to experiment & layer a few times, if desired. On the top of the cheese I add a final layer of tortilla shells, then pour the remaining green chili sauce on top of the shells. For the final touch, add a good amount of the queso cheese on the very top, making sure to completely cover the sauce & shells.

Bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese on top is nicely golden & bubbly. Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, cut up like a lasagna & serve!

Posted in recipes & written by Niki —