Turkey Cranchiladas

Shane and I have become completely addicted to the tv show Breaking Bad over the course of the last few months. We're super duper late to jump on the bandwagon here, but we are just loving it! Have you guys seen it? It's about a mild-mannered chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with inoperable cancer and, with the goal of providing for his family before he dies, begins making and selling meth with a former student. It's really dark, and the more we watch, the darker it gets.

We've been catching up on Netflix and are almost through season 3. With winter on the horizon, we'll be stuck inside more and shouldn't have any problem getting up to speed so we can watch live when the series concludes next summer. If you're looking for a new show to get hooked on, I can't recommend it highly enough!



If I could offer one more recommendation today, it'd be this - when you're trying to figure out what to do with your leftover turkey later this week, keep these turkey cranchiladas in mind :) They were such a surprise hit here I can't even begin to tell you. I know the combination of ingredients sounds a little odd - even as a lover of cranberry sauce, I was somewhat skeptical about putting it in a Mexican dish. It really does work though! The cranberry sauce is subtle, adding just a little of its sweet-tart freshness to the dish.

I wasn't sure I'd be able to convince Shane to eat these enchiladas since he doesn't do cranberry sauce. I baked two portions, and to play it safe on his, I only included the cranberry sauce in the filling, skipping it in the sauce poured over the top of the enchiladas before baking. I didn't attempt to hide it - he knew there was cranberry sauce in the filling, but he tried the enchiladas and wound up enjoying them so much he went back for seconds! Just a little hint to keep in mind if you're looking to tone down the cranberry angle just a bit.



If we're lucky enough to snag some leftovers after Thursday's meal, these turkey cranchiladas will absolutely be on the menu again! And it's likely we'll be sitting in front of the tv watching Breaking Bad while we eat them :)

Turkey Cranchiladas
adapted from Pink Parsley and Better Homes and Gardens

{Note: The original recipe also included a can of black beans, but I left them out given what happened the last time I served black beans to Shane.}

2 1/2 cups shredded turkey
2 cups whole-berry cranberry sauce (canned is fine)
1 1/2 cups salsa (I used salsa verde)
1 1/2 cups shredded Pepperjack cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
10-12 (6-inch) flour tortillas
1 teaspoon hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Add the turkey, 1 cup of the cranberry sauce, 1/2 cup of the salsa, 3/4 cup of the cheese, the sour cream, scallions, parsley, cumin, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Stir to combine.

Place a scant 1/3 cup of the filling onto the lower third of one of the tortillas, and roll tightly. Place seam side-down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.

Combine the remaining cranberry sauce, remaining salsa, and the hot sauce in a bowl. Pour this sauce over the enchiladas then cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and top the enchiladas with the remaining cheese. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Garnish the enchiladas with additional scallions and parsley before serving.