This year we have leftover chicken rather than leftover turkey. That’s partly due to the fact that I was recovering from pneumonia and didn’t have the stamina to cook anything more elaborate than canned soup for Thanksgiving. But there’s more to it than that. We are an anomaly in the Pittsburgh region. We have no local family in a region where everyone has at least a few family members in the area. Gathering the clan for holiday feasts may be one of the most sacred events on their calendars. In most cases, virtual barbed wire and broken glass keeps friends safely outside the sacred family circle for these ritualistic feasts.
That pretty much leaves us loners out in the cold without turkey in our diet, because even a 14 pound turkey is way too big for two people to eat alone. I find that seriously baffling, having grown up and lived out west until I was forty. We always had at least a few friends join our family gatherings. What is the problem around here?
Can you tell that this topic has me hot as a jalapeño? A mild one, anyway. But this blog is about chile, not local customs. Anyway, to compensate for feast deprivation, I roasted a large chicken a few days ago, though the trimmings fell by the wayside this year. Roasted chickens are the next best thing to turkey. So now we’re down to the scrappy meat as resource material for a final two or three rounds of leftovers.
Tonight the choice was Chicken Enchiladas. I included my recipe for Chicken Enchiladas in Adventures of a Chilehead, but these are a little different. Still feeling a big on the lazy side, I decided to stack them rather than rolling. That’s a first. It worked so well, I’ll switch for good, unless I have a crowd to feed.
As with all recipes in the book, this one is an approximation for two people:
| About 1 cup finely chopped dark chicken meat. About 3/4 cup finely chopped onion. About 5 oz grated Monterey Jack cheese (I used Pepper Jack because that's what I had) About 1 1/2 cup left-over chicken gravy (Cream of Chicken soup is as good or better) 1 can chopped green chile (I prefer Trader Joe's Hatch variety.) Five or six tortillas (two is enough for me, most men want three) About 1/2 cup vegetable oil for softening tortillas |
Fry tortillas just to soften, as described in the book. Scatter chicken, onion and cheese over surface of tortilla. Cover with sauce. Add another tortilla. Repeat as above. Place in 350˚ oven for five or ten minutes to heat through and soften cheese. Handle plates with hot pads, and use mats under hot plates to protect table top.
Serve with frijoles (see recipe in book), and tomato/lettuce salad. Beer is our preferred beverage with this meal.
Enjoy!
