Monday, May 10, 2010

Amazing Green Enchiladas

I actually had these this weekend and they made wonderful leftovers for work the next day.  This is a great, fast, easy dish and everytime I make it, people love it!  The whole thing takes maybe 20-30 minutes.

Here goes:
1/2 pound ground turkey (turkey makes it a little healthier, make sure you get lean ground turkey)
1 big can green enchilada sauce
1/4 block of cream cheese (neuftachel is better since its lower-fat)
Assorted veggies (whatever's on hand) - 1/2 cup frozen corn, can of chopped olives, 1/2 small chopped onion, one can of black or white beans, one small can of green chiles (for a little punch)
Shredded cheddar cheese (about a 1/2 cup)
7-8 Small tortillas (I use flour) *makes enough for about 3-4 people, double everything to make a bigger pan


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Take a rectangle glass pan (I think mine's 8" x 11.5") and pour a little bit of green enchilada sauce in the bottom of the pan, enough to coat it thinly.
2. Heat up a pan to med-high heat and throw the 1/2 pound of ground turkey in.  I have really non-stick pans, so I don't put any liquid to heat it in (turkey leaks enough oil to cook itself), but if you have not-great pans, use a little cooking spray or tiny bit of oil.  Throw in the onions about 2 or 3 minutes later (so there's enough grease to cook them as well).  Saute until turkey and onions are cooked.
3. Turn stove down to medium heat.  Pour in most of can of enchilada sauce into pan with turkey and onions (leave a little bit in can, maybe a 1/3 or 1/2 cup for top of enchiladas).  Put in frozen corn, diced green chiles, chopped olives, and can of black or white beans.  Heat those up.
4.  Take 1/4 block of cream cheese (I use the neuftachel cheese because its lower fat) and chop into small pieces.  Throw into pan and stir until it melts (this creates a slightly creamy texture).
5. Once cream cheese is melted and everything's heated, spoon filling into small tortillas (about maybe 2 or 3 tablespoons, I usually make sure its enough to fill the tortilla but not so much that its dripped out the sides).  Roll tortillas up, place in pan (on top of green sauce you put in earlier).  I can normally fit about 7-8 in my pan.
6. Take remaining green enchilada sauce and pour over enchiladas.  Try to evenly spread it over all parts of tortillas (or the exposed "dry" parts get really crunchy).  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake for about 10 minutes (you're basically just heating the sauce and melting the cheese since everything's pre-cooked).  I typically throw the oven on "broil" for the last minute to crisp up the cheese a little.
7.  Pull out of oven and serve!  Yum!

This is healthier because you use lots of veggies to make it more filling, the turkey has less fat than ground beef (and its cheaper!), and you only use a small amount of cheese to save fat.

No comments:

Post a Comment