Turkey & Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Gluten-free turkey and sweet potato enchiladas.

This Friday is just like any other out here in the New Mexico hinterland. There were big-eared rabbits eating breakfast (nibbling spare tufts of grass). A chickadee or two in the junipers. Pink light on the distant mesas. And as far as I know, no scary crush of shoppers at the Espanola Walmart. At least I haven't heard any sirens off in the distance. Truth be told I haven't budged from my casita (and I have no plans to). Nope. It's just another day here, call it what you want. Black Friday is quiet as an empty nest. So I thought I'd share a recipe for leftover turkey and sweet potatoes- a surprisingly tasty combo.

As always, make it as mild or as spicy as your little heart desires.

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Karina's Enchiladas Win the Whole Foods Budget Recipe Challenge

Enchiladas photo courtesy Whole Foods Market © 2008

I am very excited to announce that my recipe for Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas has won the Whole Foods Market Budget Recipe Challenge. Thank you all who voted for the recipe- and highlighted this gluten-free vegetarian entry. I am overwhelmed by the support. Over 1,300 of you took the time to vote! And I appreciate it with all my heart.

Congrats to the other talented finalists who participated with their mouthwatering array of unique dishes- Jaden of Steamy Kitchen, Rachel of Coconut & Lime, Hannah of Bittersweet, Michael of Cooking for Engineers and of Katy of Sugar Laws. Your recipes rocked.

To celebrate I am going to give away:

Five $25 Whole Foods Market Gift Cards!

To participate in this random drawing leave a comment below.


Five lucky winners will be picked out of hat
by my favorite little burro, Sparky
on Friday October 31st.


Good luck!

Contest is closed- Sparky picked the winners-

see the winners here.

Here is the winning recipe on Gluten-Free Goddess:

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

Visit the Whole Foods Market Blog

Green Chile Tortilla Bake Recipe

A gluten-free tortilla casserole with cream cheese and green chiles. Si.

Planted on the coast of Cape Cod for many years (forever, it seemed on gloomy January days) I daydreamed about fire roasted chiles. The smoky pepper sweetness that flirted with your senses as you walked in Santa Fe. The luxury of buying bags of freshly roasted chiles by the roadside- still warm,  soft as butter, and charred. In fact, I may have moved here for the chiles alone.

That's entirely possible.

I may have been so drop dead in love with chiles when we bought this casita that I didn't notice I'd be stuck out in the desert with so few neighbors. No bookstore, no cafe- no movie theater. What was I thinking? Only my analyst knows for sure (if she remembers me; it's been years since Jungian analysis).

Along with dreaming of Val Kilmer (not the rock scrambling Thunderheart Val, the expanding, voluptuous new Mega Val- and why he showed up in my dream, I've no clue- better ask my analyst) I've been craving green chile this month like mad as we approach our second anniversary of moving to New Mexico. And wouldn't you know it! I'm out of last year's roadside bags of chiles. They're long gone (my freezer is annoyingly, shall we say, petite). Until roasting season starts I have to settle with buying frozen Bueno chiles. And they're not bad, exactly. They are pretty dang good.

Yet, as I sit and crave and daydream, the big question becomes: Do I really still want to be here in August when chile roasting begins? Is my chile love a devoted, true love, or simply an infatuation? A passing fancy? Will your intrepid dusty goddess remain here in the coyote hills of O'Keeffe country or soon be walking Venice Beach in her Rocket Dogs?

I tell myself, just breathe. There are Bueno chiles to defrost.

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A Trio of Tasty Turkey Recipes- Gluten-Free

Here are three delicious ways to use up leftover gluten-free turkey. One retro classic, Tetrazzini style, with brown rice noodles. One fabulous southwestern style enchilada recipe that has leftover turkey flirting with sweet potatoes. And last but always fabulous, our easy family favorite- turkey nachos with jalapenos and blue corn chips.

Gluten-free turkey tetrazzini- a retro classic, updated.

Jazzed Up Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe

Here's my unconventional dairy-free version of a retro sixties classic. Gluten-free spaghetti makes fabulous tetrazzini.

Ingrediients:

For the filling:

A dash of olive oil, as needed
1 medium sweet onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 medium carrots, cut into julienne strips (thin sticks)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms (I used baby Bella)
12 oz. gluten-free linguini or spaghetti cooked to al dente (still firm), rinsed, drained
3 cups hand-torn cooked free-range organic turkey pieces
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

For the sauce:

4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons sweet rice flour
2 cups non-dairy rice or soy milk (or milk)
1 1/2 cups gluten-free chicken broth
Optional- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, for flavor
1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine (may omit)
1 teaspoon tarragon or parsley
Sea salt and ground pepper or paprika, to taste

For the crumb topping:

2 cups Crunchy Gluten-Free Bread Crumbs (tossed in olive oil or melted vegan margarine)

1 teaspoon French herbs- or parsley

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease or spray a 10x13-inch baking dish or deep casserole.

Heat a dash of olive oil in a large skillet and lightly saute the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms till tender; set aside.

Arrange the cooked spaghetti in the baking dish.

Toss the turkey pieces in a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and season with a little sea salt and pepper.

Add the skillet veggies to the noodles in the baking dish.

Make your sauce:

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the flour; stir to make a paste; briefly stir over heat for about three minutes- to cook out the "flour" flavor. Slowly add a cup of the rice milk and continue stirring until it starts to thicken; add the second cup of rice milk, heat and stir till thickened. I like to use a whisk at this point.

If you are using the nutritional yeast, you can add it in and whisk to combine. Add the broth. Continue to heat gently for another five to seven minutes, stirring often. Add the sherry, tarragon and a dash of sea salt and pepper, to taste. In fact- taste test. If it needs a flavor boost, add a pinch more salt, a dash of herbs or sherry. You can also add a dash of nutmeg or mustard if you like.

Pour the sauce over the veggies and noodles and use a fork to shimmy the goodies so that the sauce seeps in and around- this keeps everything moist and happy.

Top with the Crunchy Golden GF Bread Crumbs. (I like to place a few of the mushroom slices on the top, too- I think it looks pretty.)

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until piping hot and bubbling.

To be totally retro, serve with green beans sprinkled with slivered almonds.

Serves 4 to 6.

These turkey enchiladas are tasty and gluten-free.

Holiday Turkey Enchiladas Recipe- Gluten-Free

You will love these super easy enchiladas featuring torn pieces of tender free-range chicken, lime juice, chunks of sweet pineapple, and spicy salsa. Espeically after Thanksgiving, when all the traditional Pilgrim-inspired foods have shared their hand-holding moment in the fast fading sun.

Ingredients:

3 cups of your favorite salsa- spicy or mild

4-5 cups of cooked free-range organic turkey, hand torn or shredded

Juice from one fresh lime

2-4 tablespoons sour cream- light or regular or vegan for dairy-free

Sea salt and ground pepper

Pinch of cumin

Light olive oil, as needed

12 corn tortillas

1 cup diced pineapple

2 4-oz. cans chopped green chiles, drained

2 cups shredded Jalapeño Jack cheese- or vegan Jack for non-dairy

Hot red pepper flakes, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Pour about a half cup of salsa into the bottom a large lightly oiled 10x13" baking dish- or use two smaller pans, for six enchiladas each.

Place the torn turkey pieces into a bowl and squeeze lime juice all over the cooked turkey; add enough sour cream to moisten; stir; season with sea salt and pepper, and cumin; toss well to coat.

Heat a dash of olive oil in a skillet, and heat one corn tortilla until softened, turning it over once to coat with oil. Place the tortilla into the sauced baking dish; fill with 1/12 of the turkey pieces, and roll up seam side down, placing it at the far end of the dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas, adding more oil, if needed.

Pour the remaining salsa over the rolled tortillas. Top with the diced pineapple, then the green chiles. Sprinkle with cheese and red pepper flakes.

Bake in a 350 degree F. oven until the enchiladas are bubbling and heated through, about 30 minutes.

Check out my tasty homemade green chile sauce recipe here.

Serves 6

Gluten-free nachos, Baby.

Gluten-Free Turkey Nachos

Here's a non-conventional way to use up cruelty-free turkey leftovers Santa Fe style. Use a combo of organic blue and yellow corn chips and scatter on lots of sliced pickled jalapeños. It's an unbeatable combination.

Ingredients:

3 heaping cups organic blue corn tortilla chips

3 heaping cups organic yellow corn tortilla chips

Extra virgin olive oil

2 cups hand torn cooked free-range organic turkey pieces

4 oz. Cheddar or Jack cheese, shredded- use vegan cheese for dairy-free

A big handful of organic sweet grape tomatoes, halved

3-4 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapenos- or use chopped mild green chiles

A sprinkle of good chili powder or chipotle powder, to taste

Chopped fresh cilantro, if desired

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a large roasting pan with foil or parchment paper.

Layer the blue and yellow corn tortilla chips in the bottom of the lined pan; drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and hand toss to coat evenly.

Scatter the turkey pieces on top of the corn chips. Sprinkle with half of the shredded cheese. Layer the tomatoes, jalapeños, and the remaining shredded cheese. Believe it or not, drizzle a little more olive oil all over the the nachos. Add a dusting of spices, to taste, and chopped cilantro, if desired.

Bake in a hot oven for about seven to ten minutes, or so, until the cheese has melted and the nachos are happy and sizzling. You can even be post-holiday decadent and serve these nachos right from the roasting pan. Okay, I admit it. We're casual here.

We eat nachos right out of the pan- with our fingers.

Serves 4.

Vegetarian Enchiladas Griegos with Spinach + Feta

Rain clouds above the mesa, toward Abiquiu.

Today is our anniversary. It is raining here in the high desert. Cloud cover blankets the mesa in a soft dove gray that is flirting with lavender. We married in this weather twelve years ago, sprinting through Cape Cod wind and mist to reach the antique door of our local Justice of the Peace without getting wet, the four of us stepping over the threshold to become a family.

Me and my three men- my love and my two sons.

I look at the photographs taken by the Justice's husband, our single witness. We are so young, all of us. Arms linking. There is palpable tenderness.

The boys are now men. They stand taller than my five-foot-eight. My husband and I, well. We are wiser. And weathered. And we remain expectant. This has been a year of enormous change.

We have sold most of our belongings (except books and paintings) and moved west. From the eastern shore to the high desert. From what was predictable and safe to what is unknown. What is possible. What might be.

After thirteen years together we are still exploring, still traveling, still on our way to somewhere. We are painting less and writing more. We are listening to each other with deeper affection, having shed many old expectations. We have come through a lot this year, on many levels. And so have our sons. Their own lives have not stood still. They too have faced changes and embraced risk.

I look out the window of my studio and exhale. I say a silent prayer for twelve more years. And twelve more years.

And twelve more years.

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