Give Thanks for Leftovers
Transform your Thanksgiving leftovers into a Tex-Mex Fiesta! All recipes serve 4.

Stuffed Jalapeños

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups leftover turkey dressing (I used
cornbread dressing)
12 jalapeño peppers, halved lengthwise, seeded
(or substitute 24 mushrooms, stems removed)
½ cup shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stuff jalapeño pepper halves or mushroom caps with leftover turkey dressing; top with cheese. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

Tex-Mex Potato Skins

Ingredients:
12 baked potato skin halves (flesh scooped out for Thanksgiving’s mashed potatoes)
2 Tbsp. melted butter
½ tsp. each salt and pepper
12 slices cheddar or pepper jack cheese
6-8 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Directions: 
Place potatoes skin side up on a baking sheet, brush them with butter and sprinkle them with half the salt and pepper. Bake until slightly crispy (10-15 minutes). Turn them over and brush the insides with butter, sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper, and top each with a slice of cheese and crumbled bacon. Bake at 375 degrees until cheese is melted (5-8 minutes).

Tex-Mex Veggie Rice

Ingredients: 
2 Tbsp. oil
1 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups rice
1 ½ cups canned diced tomatoes with juice
3 cups chicken stock or equivalent in watered-down turkey gravy
2 cups chopped leftover vegetables (I used zucchini an mushrooms)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 
Heat oil in medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; stir with a wooden spoon until lightly golden (2-3 minutes). Add rice, tomatoes and stock and bring ingredients to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook covered for 25-30 minutes (or until tender). Once cooked, add the leftover vegetables.

Remove from heat and cover, and leave undisturbed for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Season with salt and pepper
as desired.

Green Turkey Enchiladas

Ingredients: 
2 Tbsp. oil
1 cup diced onion
1 tsp. each garlic powder and cumin
4 cups shredded turkey
6 oz. sliced black olives
2 cups shredded Mexican or
cheddar cheese
12 small corn tortillas
For sauce:
1 ½ cups green enchilada sauce, mild green salsa or salsa verde (may substitute red)
1 ½ cups turkey gravy
½ tsp. each salt and pepper

Toppings:
1 pint sour cream
Hot sauce

Directions: 
In a frying pan, heat oil over medium high heat, add onion, garlic powder and cumin, and sauté until softened. Add turkey, half of the olives, 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese, and stir until  combined. Set aside. For sauce, mix enchilada sauce and gravy; cook until sauce is slightly thickened (3-5 minutes). Season with
salt and pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour 1/3 of the enchilada sauce in a 9×13 baking pan.

To assemble the enchiladas, dip a tortilla in warm sauce and put on a plate. Spoon 1/4 cup of turkey mixture in the bottom of tortilla and roll it up. Place enchiladas seam end down in the pan and close together. Repeat until you have 12 enchiladas. Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas and top with remaining cheese and olives. Bake until hot and bubbling (15-20 minutes). Serve 2-3 enchiladas per person with sour cream and hot sauce on the side.

By Lori Ross, Southern Boating November 2017

See the bonus recipe for cranberry margaritas.