Turkey Pasta Casserole

8 oz penne pasta or similar shape (we used our homemade pasta, so it weighed a lot more than 8oz)
5 TBS butter
5 TBS flour
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped (I used one whole pepper cause it was smaller)
1/2 TBS garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp season-all

asparagus, about 2 cups
3 cups cooked turkey, diced or shredded
8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 TBS melted butter

Preheat oven to 350°
Grease a 9x13 glass baking dish.
Cook pasta in boiling water, about 10 minutes for dried, 4 minutes for fresh.
Meanwhile steam asparagus for about 10 minutes.
Then cut into 1 inch pieces.
In a large pan melt butter over medium heat.
Add bell pepper and saute until tender, about 5 minutes
Add garlic and green onion and saute for 1 minute.
Stir in flour, until blended.
Stir in chicken broth, cook until thickened a little.
Stir in milk, stirring frequently, cook until thickened.
Add seasonings, asparagus and turkey.
Heat thoroughly.
Stir in cheese and cook until melted.
Drain cooked pasta.
Add cooked pasta into mixture.
Pour into baking dish.
Melt 1 TBS butter and mix with bread crumbs.
Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Serves 6 to 8.

We used the leftover smoked turkey from our TBA sandwiches, and this turned out wonderfully. There was a little bit too much bread crumb on the top, for my liking, so I adjusted this recipe accordingly. We each ate a heaping helping and then we froze the rest.

Red Sauce Chicken Enchiladas

2 TBS oil
2 TBS flour
1/4 cup chili powder
1 TBS cumin
2 cup beef broth
2. cup tomato sauce
1 small can diced green chiles
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 TBS chopped garlic
salt, to taste
8 raw flour tortillas (pre-cooked tortillas are okay too)
3 chicken breasts
1 can refried beans
white rice (we probably used 2 cups raw)
canned white corn, drained and rinsed
shredded cheddar cheese

Cook rice according to directions on package.
Preheat oven to 325
Boil water and cook chicken breasts in hot water.
Meanwhile mix oil, flour, chili powder and cumin in a large pan.
Heat on low until bubbly.
Add beef broth, tomato sauce, chiles oregano, garlic and a pinch of salt to chili powder mixture.
Simmer on low for about 15 minutes.
Once chicken is cooked thoroughly (the chicken is cooked if the temp is 165 or if it is white throughout) put chicken in a bowl and shred with two forks.
Cook tortillas on a griddle (or a large pan) until they have small brown dots on each side.
Stir 1 cup of sauce in with shredded chicken.
Take a tortilla and layer it with beans, corn, rice and chicken.
Roll up tortilla and place in 9x13 inch pan (make sure pan is sprayed with a non-stick spray such as Pam)
Repeat with remaining 7 tortillas. (You may be able fit 10 tortillas in the pan if you stuff each of them a little less)
Top rolled tortillas with enchilada sauce.
Sprinkle cheese over top of enchiladas.
Bake for about 45 - 60 minutes. 

This was really good. And even tasted a little more authentic "mexican" than using a can of enchilada sauce. And was especially more authentic than the mormon mom cream enchiladas (Don't get me wrong, those are delicious too). Anyway, you should try these. They tasted superb.

Shredded Beef Enchiladas

 Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs of round roast (I only used about 1 lb)
1 pasilla pepper, seeded and diced
1 red jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (I couldn't find a red jalapeno, so I used green)
1 7 oz can of whole green chiles
2 TBS olive oil
Chili powder, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Cumin, to taste
Paprika, to taste
Oregano, to taste
Salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 cups of beef broth
8-10 tortillas (its typically to use corn, but Nate doesn't like them, so I used flour)
1 large red onion, sliced (I used about half)
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 oz cans of red enchilada sauce
1 3 oz can of black olive slices
1 cup of shredded cheese (I used colby jack, you could use monterey jack, mozzarella, cheddar)


 Directions
1. Sprinkle seasonings, to taste, all over the meat.
2. Sear the meat in 1 TBS olive oil, on all sides.
3. Add the pasilla and jalapeno pepper, giving them a quick saute (1-2 minutes)
4. Add beef broth, green chiles, garlic, peppers and meat to crock pot.
5. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5, until meat shreds easily.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Add 1 TBS olive oil and red onions to skillet.
8. Saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown (15-20 minutes)
9. Season onions with a little salt and set aside.
10. If tortillas are not pliable, place them within wet dishcloth or paper towels and microwave 1-1.5 minutes until soft and pliable.
11. Pour enchilada sauce in the bottom of a large baking dish. (I used medium size, it fit 6 enchiladas perfectly)
12. Fill tortilla with shredded beef, onions and beans.

13. Roll tortilla and place in dish.
14. Repeat until finished.
15. Add the rest of the enchilada sauce to the top.
16. Cover with cheese and olives.

My beef didn't shred as well as I would have liked. I think a more expensive roast would have shredded better, or maybe I could have cooked it longer. It was still yummy though. I also only put onions in half of the enchiladas, cause I wasn't sure if I would like it. It was good, though I think I like it better without (but I'm not a huge onion person). This is definitely a recipe I'll make again.

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas:

Makes about 6 servings

flour tortillas

one can cream of chicken soup

one can canned chicken (drained)

1/4 can minced jalapenos (drained)

1 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup sour cream

salt (to taste)

extra grated cheese

1. Mix together all ingredients but tortillas, and extra cheese

2. Lay out tortilla and fill with desired amount of mix.

3. Roll up.

4. Repeat until casserole dish is full. 

5. Spread additional sauce on top of tortillas.

6. Sprinkle with cheese.

7. Microwave for 7 minutes or cook in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes (until warm throughout)

This is another of my favorite family recipes. And I love how easy it is. I don't eat it as often anymore because Nate and I like to branch out and try new things, but this will always be a regular.