Turkey and Kale Enchiladas

I had a turkey breast, half of a head of kale, lots of cheese...hmm. What the hell was dinner going to be? Could it be Turkey Enchiladas? I was really out there on a wing and a prayer, as they say, but ended up landing safely in cheesy goodness. For truly, how wrong can you go if you just smother something in cheese? Not so wrong, as evidenced by an empty baking dish shortly afterwards. Now, you ask, is this really an enchilada? I'm not sure. But what I do know is that aside from being easy, as per how I roll, it's so good for you, what with the kale and avocado. You know, really, everything else is good for you, too. So, what did I do?

First, I poach the turkey breast in chicken stock. Chop some kale and surrounded the meat with it so it wilts while the meat poaches. Once the turkey is done, about twelve minutes depending on its weight, remove it to a plate to cool and rest. Keep the kale in the pan cooking with the stock, add a bunch of chopped scallions and maybe a tablespoon of diced red onion, and a handful of parsley. After about ten minutes pour it all in the processor and whiz it up good with some salt and pepper. It was a little on the bland side, so I added two tablespoonfuls of sun-dried tomato bruschetta from Trader Joe's. It's little things like that that help out recipes sometimes. You can improvise, adding something tart and tangy, like capers or a dash of vinegar.

Shred the turkey and mix it with 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1 tsp. of cumin, and 1/2 tsp. of tumeric. Divvy it all up between six ten-inch flour tortillas, add a little shredded empire jack and roll them up and place, seam side down, in a glass baking dish. I put a spoonful of sauce down first, so it wasn't a dry dish. Then, top with shredded sharp cheddar and the rest of the sauce and bake at 400 for about 15-20 minutes, or until bubbling. Top with slices of avocado.

Whew. The dinner that almost wasn't.

Enchiladas Verdes with Roasted Green Tomato Sauce

I was looking at a recipe for roasted tomatillo sauce and thought, I'm not going out to buy tomatillos, for crying out loud. But what can I use? Green tomatoes!! I am thrilled for a new and delicious green tomato recipe that does not require pickling.

Enchiladas: I poached a fryer chicken to make stock, as it's now soup season. Froze a few quarts of stock and left one out for cooking. This left me with a goodly amount of chicken meat, which I shredded, about 2 1/2 cups. Mix this with 1/2 cup of yogurt, and a 1/4 cup each of chopped cilantro and scallions. Next, fill six tortillas with the mixture, roll and place in lightly greased baking dish, seam side down.

The sauce: At 400 degrees, roast a pan full of green tomatoes (I used whole cherry), two quartered onions, a dozen garlic cloves, tossed with olive oil, a teaspoon of salt and flaked red pepper (you could go hotter and use real hot peppers of your choice). Let these roast for about 45 minutes, shaking the pan a few times in the interim. When done, let cool a bit and then whiz them in the processor with some stock--about a cup--until the consistency of your desire.

Shred some cheddar and swiss over the enchiladas. Pour the sauce over the whole enchilada and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes or until bubbly. My sauce was thick, so I added some stock for cooking.

Best new green tomato recipe!!