Happy Tuesday! Sorry for not posting, but with comp problems and the Thanksgiving holiday I figured we all could use the break. Our holiday evolved into a very laid back weekend. My hubby’s parents came in from Driscoll, Texas and the girls’ couldn’t have been more excited. My in-laws do not travel much, so for them to drive 2 and 1/2 hours is a big deal. I had hoped for a longer visit, but they returned home after our Thanksgiving meal. With no plans, the girls’ decided we should enjoy a weekend of movies. Movies, turkey, pie, movies, cranberries, turkey…all in all a blissful weekend. After a weekend of turkey +mash+ gravy overload, Monday was the perfect opportunity to revive our leftovers. A quick turkey casserole swimming in a tomatillo sauce gave our holiday bird a much needed new dimension. You could easily roll the tortillas into enchiladas. I opted not to, out of sheer laziness. Please forgive the pictures for they are not entirely the most appealing I have presented you with. I find comfort food a tad difficult for me to shoot, I really can’t explain why, maybe I am overly eager to consume my plate…that’s it, pure gluttony! Enjoy! Sweet Life
Tomatillo Turkey Casserole
by Sweet Life
by Vianney Rodriguez
serves 6
1 pound tomatillos, husks removed
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/2 medium onion chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
Salt
pepper
water
12-14 corn tortillas
canola oil
2 cups of cheese (i used asadero and quesadilla) of your preference
Bring 3 cups of water to boil, you want the tomatillos covered. Add tomatillos, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Check your tomatillos they should be soft, but they should remain their shape. Remove the tomatillos from the pot and reserve the cooking liquid. Let tomatillos cool until manageable and remove their stems. Chop and place in blender with onion, cilantro and cumin. Blend quickly, you want to the ingredients to come together but have some texture. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add the blended mixture and ¼ to ½ cup liquid water to loosen the sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes. The sauce should coat a spoon. Season to tatse with salt and pepper. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet, pass each tortilla in the heated oil, allow your tortilla to slightly crisp (not a tostada stage). Begin your casserole. Spoon a bit tomatillo mixture on bottom of your casserole dish(9/13) Place a layer of tortillas, turkey, cheese and sauce. Repeat process, you should have enough sauce for three layers. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, remove from oven. Allow the casserole to rest for easier slicing.
Makes 2 cups
Born in Paris, TX / spent my teenage years in Austin, TX — I’m a true Texan at heart, I think! The worst part about being an expat is the lack of real TexMex. Now if I can ever get my hands on some tomatillos, I’ve got a great idea on how to use them!
I love tomatillos and corn tortillas and this reminds me of a pork casserole I made years ago from my Mexican cookbook that I loved and havent done in years! Thanks for the inspiration!
What a fantastic use of leftovers…sounds like you had a relaxing Holiday 🙂
sadly, tomatillos are very hard to come by in Australia. We can only get the canned stuff (even that is hard to find!). I don’t even know what it tastes like. I love mexican food and all of my mexican cookbooks are littered with recipes that have tomatillos in it. I guess I’m gonna have to make a special trip to the northern hemisphere and seek them out.
i’ve seen a lot of uses for leftover turkey, but this one definitely ranks among my favorites. tomatillos are so underutilized! great dish. 🙂
I’m so glad to hear you had a relaxing weekend! Full of good food, family, and fun. Can’t go wrong there.
Personally, I think this looks delicious. Almost like a tomatillo lasagna. Comfort food at its finest.
Mmmm…looks delicious to me. Love the meat and the layered look. Thanks very much for sharing.
I’d love to try your casserole! Looks like a tortilla-turkey lasagna. I’ve never had turkey casserole or any casserole with Mexican flavors in it.
Come to think of it…I haven’t had anything Mexican in ages. The last time I made salsa verde with tomatillos was 4 years ago. And that came out of the can! I was so excited when i saw them. They stopped importing them. 🙁
Most comfort foods in many cultures aren’t photogenic. That seems to be quite universal.
I definitely don’t work with tomatillos enough. I always opt for the sauce when I see it on a menu.
This is a terrific use of leftovers! Sounds so delicious with tomatillos!
This looks absolutely delicious.
I don’t what you are talking about, because I find your photograph mouthwatering and oh-so tempting! This turkey dish looks incredible and absolutely delicious. Sadly, we have no turkey (I didn’t get to cook this year), but will most seriously consider this dish for the turkey I plan to make for the Xmas holiday. Thanks so much for the great idea!
Bonnie~ Can I come live with you? Pretty please??? You make everything just the way I like it! Turkey and tomatillos, mmmmmmm!
We were in Texas over Thanksgiving and I ate some GREAT Tex-Mex.
Sooo wish I still had turkey so I could whip this up!!! (plus the cilantro in the garden is till going strong!) True blue Texas leftovers!
I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving! I am dying over this delicious casserole. I’d have this over turkey and the trimmings any time 😀
*kisses* HH
Yum! What a great way to use left overs. I’m glad you had a chance to relax during Thanksgiving…
My biggest problem taking food photos is that I’m starving by the time the food is plated, definitely not ideal timing to make everything perfect 🙂
Never tried any casserole like this before! To be laid back and eat this….why not? ;p
How I wish a large portion of your tomatillos turkey casserole! Looks absolutely delicious!
Honestly, I have never eaten tomatillos but this looks like it could only be absolutely delicious. I actually have a can of them in my cupboard and some left over turkey….
🙂
valerie
Wow! Looks fabulous. I may have to try this even though we never had turkey on Thanksgiving. (But frozen turkey meat is fairly easy to find here.) Wonder if I could use less cheese though, or perhaps not use it at all? I’m mildly lactose intolerant.
reminds me of chicken lasagna with great flair – the taste must be awesome… glad you had a wonderful and peaceful holiday and hope the upcoming season is a blessed one for you and the family
This sounds and looks fabulous! Sadly I cannot get tomatillo’s here in Mauritius. Can you suggest a replacement?
🙂 Mandy
I haven’t worked with tomatillos before. I do like them in salsa though. This seems like a great flavorful dish!
Sounds like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving day! I love such low key weekends with lots of good food. Sounds perfect to me (lol). This casserole looks delicious!
Hey Bonnie! Oh my Gosh, this kind of reminds me of white pizza layered with turkey. I don’t know why;) It sounds so good though. And since it’s 5 here and I had no lunch, I would probably totally break my veg diet and eat this if it were in front of me (smile but seriously)…
Glad you guys had a good Thanksgiving, Bonnie.
XO,
Stella