enchiladas with red chard and turkey
April 20, 2015 § 47 Comments
It’s unbelievable how often we have enchiladas for dinner. I’m at the point where start to oven only takes 30 minutes and then after 30 minutes of baking, dinner is on the table. Most likely the efficient process of putting these together is the reason we have them so often. No, it has to be because this is a succulent supper and it is sure to satisfy your soul.
When preparing enchiladas it is very helpful to have all your ingredients ready to go. Prep work is a must.
There are so many ways to fill an enchilada and we switch around the ingredients quite often. Although these may not be what you would find in Mexico, they are certainly tasty and you’ll love to find them on your dinner table, especially with homemade enchilada sauce. Once you make your own enchilada sauce you’ll never buy it in a can ever again. The recipe below is a mild version and you may spice it up with cayenne, chili’s or add jalapeños in chipotle sauce.
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 1 pound ground turkey, chicken or beef
- 2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 tablespoon chili powder, or more to your liking
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- sea salt to taste
- 1 bunch red chard, cleaned and diced
- 3 cups shredded cheese, your choice
- 1 cup black or green olives, sliced
- 5 or 6 scallions, sliced
- 6 – 8 good quality tortillas, corn or flour
- homemade enchilada sauce or 28 ounce can if you are pressed for time
Prepare homemade enchilada sauce first and set aside.
h o m e m a d e e n c h i l a d a s a u c e
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano (dried or fresh)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 cups vegetable stock
Sauté onion until soft. Add garlic and spices and cook 2 minutes then stir in the flour and and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Add the vegetable stock and whisk until smooth. Add tomatoes and honey and cook 15-20 minutes. You may use your sauce chunky or smooth. If you would like it smooth either use a hand blender and whizz or transfer ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
e n c h i l a d a s
Preheat oven 350°F. Heat your choice of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add garlic and spices and cook for one or two minutes. Add ground turkey, chicken or beef and continue cooking until browned. Taste and season with sea salt to your liking. Turn off the heat.
Warm tortillas are easier to work with, they become pliable and will not break when you roll them. Either warm the tortillas individually in a hot skillet and place them in a folded kitchen towel or stack them in foil and place them a 350°F oven for 8-10 minutes.
Rolling your enchiladas. Using one tortilla at a time, layer two large tablespoons of choice meat, sprinkle cheese, olives, and scallions on top and roll. Place the rolled enchilada, folded side down onto a large baking dish. Continue the process until you have 6-8 enchiladas packed in tight. Pour enchilada sauce over the top drenching them all. Top with the left over olives, scallions and a sprinkling of cheese. Cover with foil, bake 30 minutes in a 350° oven.
COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE 
ahh this sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing :)
Thank you for stopping in today! :)
Love your homemade sauce…. I only made it from scratch once, in my pre-blogging life… so many things I need to re-visit, so little time!
:-)
It’s so delicious homemade. I couldn’t quit eating it by the spoonfuls right out of the saucepan! :)
Great flavours, love the sauce :)
Thank you Elaine.
I had to smile when I read about your love of enchiladas…growing up in Texas, they were one of my favorite Mexican dishes. I know I would enjoy your version and your sauce sounds great. I just made a meal inspired by enchiladas Suizas…the flavors but a chicken dish without tortillas. :)
Yes! I say your post earlier today and it’s wonderful. I want to make it. I do enjoy taco’s & burrito’s without tortilla’s. I guess it would be considered a taco salad and a burrito bowl! :) Great to hear from you Karen.
Thank you, I just saw your comment on my post. Sorry it has been so long since I’ve visited…I’m in the process of packing for our eventual move to Florida.
No apologies necessary. I took a few months away from blogging myself. Glad to see your posts again!
I feel the same way about quesadillas. It’s usually whatever leftover protein we have, a can of beans, scrips and scraps of this and that, and we have dinner! Yours looks far more elegant than my throw-togethers, tho!
Those are some of the best meals…scrips and scraps. :) I guess these enchilada’s are the same idea but with sauce all over it! Haven’t made quesadillas in a long time. I have to remember that.
Everything looks so tasty and fresh.
Thank you. I really like adding the chard in the mix! :)
I like the addition of kale in this recipe. The homemade enchilada sauce sounds delicious!
Thank you. Hope you get a chance to make some home-made enchilada sauce at some point. It’s so delicious and you’ll be pleasantly surprised how delicious. :) I just realized you live in San Diego. I kept wondering where your ocean view kitchen is! Lovely city.
Yes, I would like to try your recipe. I make vegetarian enchilada bake and have been using store-bought enchilada sauce but its a little bit too spicy for my taste. Thanks!!!
I love enchiladas and I do think a home=made sauce makes a difference! They look lovely and healthy!
I couldn’t believe the difference using home-made sauce. Made me realize how much the can sauce actually taste like can! It’s certainly easier to just open the can and pour and most likely I’ll do that again at some point in a rush. There are some really good store bought glass sauces available too…although very expensive!
It never hurts to have a few fall back things on hand when you’re too rushed or too tired, though! :)
Looks delicious! :)
Thank you Nancy. Nice of you to stop in. :)
Chard and enchiladas are two things I’ve never had. I’m sure I’d love both. And I haven’t had a tomato sauce in ages. I’m just not cooking like I used to. Partly as I’m craving salads – regardless of how cold it still is!
I am craving salads too and have been eating salad everyday at lunch. Mine are a bit boring though. Just red leaf lettuce and avocado with a little white balsamic and olive oil. Oh, and I made the mushroom soup last weekend! Oh my. Fantastic! I’m going to post it for sure. :)
Thrilled to hear about the mushroom soup! Yep, my salads aren’t exactly bloggable. Today’s lunch was avocado, lettuce, black grapes and olives, omelette, smoked Cheddar cheese on brown bread…you get the just. Healthy, with as little cooking as poss. :)
Our family is loving Mexican food more and more these days Seana. I’m excited to see that you’ve shared your home-made enchilada sauce for us to try… always so much better than anything that comes out of a jar. Looks wonderful!
Your young ones will love this enchilada sauce Margot. (how old are your children?) I work at a private elementary school and one of the classes made this sauce and built black bean/butternut squash enchiladas. They had this for lunch and some of the very picky eaters even ate it! Even the leftover sauce doesn’t last long, you’ll find yourself eating it like soup. :)
My mouth is watering looking at these! They look amazing. I am making enchiladas next week for sure!
Thank you…you’ll leave out the meat, right? I’m thinking you are vegetarian. Oh, and I’ve sent my sister to your blog because she has a little girl 1 and a half. She loves your blog and is going to cook with her. :) You are very inspiring.
You always have such a great healthy spin on anything that can seem so decadent, but it’s not! Beautiful enchilada recipe, Seana!
What a nice comment, thank you so much. :) Ah my gosh I love enchiladas!
Great dish and it sounds really tasty Seana :)
Thank you :)
That sauce sounds very aromatic and tasty, Seana! :) I do like to prepare everything from scratch, glad you did too!
Yes, and this wonderful sauce doesn’t taste like a tin can! It’s a great recipe and I can eat it by the spoonfuls. :)
Wow these look amazing. I haven’t tried Swiss chard yet but it’s on my wannna list.
Swiss chard is lovely. More tender than kale and yet heartier than spinach. My favorite cookable leafy green. :)
What a great recipe with the beautiful chard. Swiss chard is just one of my favorites of the early garden greens and is so tasty. Thanks for sharing.
Chard is my favorite too Teresa. I just love the texture once it’s cooked. I really need to start growing chard.
I don’t believe I have ever had the privilege of the enchilada dinner… time to rectify that one methinks! Cheers my friend :)
Yes, you’d most likely love enchiladas! Make some, your boys will thank you. :)
I’m going to. I think i will thank me 😁
OMG my mom always made us enchiladas growing up and i loved them. This is a great recipe. I love your generous use of cilantro! And you know my love affair with mexico. I could eat this every night :)
Oh I wish my mom made enchiladas for us! it has to be one of my favorite dinners. Love this home made enchilada sauce, it’s a new (to me) recipe and I don’t think I’ll be buying Hatch again. :) Always puts a smile on me when I see your comments….thank you!
I LOVE enchiladas! One of my favourite dinners. Yours look amazing. Please feed me. ;)
I would love to feed you Lindy! :) As long as you feed me some of your delicious desserts.
[…] We have a tendency to get on this kick once or twice a year and it usually involves spicy soups, enchiladas, molé and various other spicy latin influenced […]