Leftover Turkey and Veggie Enchiladas

We had a turkey in our freezer and decided to pull it out and roast it for dinner - and then had enough leftover meat for about 4 more meals! I knew I wanted to make turkey enchiladas - the flavor profile is so different from the original meal it's a great change of pace and a sure way to make sure no one "gets tired" of too much turkey in those dinners following the original! I had some enchilada sauce in the pantry (something I've taken to including as a Pantry Staple now - just in case)! I used that as the base of the sauce, and then tweaked with a few more seasoning ingredients, some spicy diced tomatoes, and a nice chunk of fresh vegetables to round out the filling. 

The zucchini in this dish is really nice! We had a couple in the refrigerator that needed to be used so as I was making the filling I thought hey, why not? And it was a wonderful addition! I would definitely make sure to have zucchini on hand for any future veggie turkey enchilada renditions. It added lovely texture. Serve these up with your favorite toppings - if you have leftover turkey meat too, this is a great change of pace to use some of it up!

Leftover Turkey and Veggie Enchiladas

Ingredients
2 small green bell peppers, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups chopped cooked turkey
1/2 cup pinto beans
1 19-oz can Red Enchilada Sauce
1 10-oz can Rotel Tomatoes (diced tomatoes with chilies)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp spanish paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
5-6 oz queso fresco
8 8" flour tortillas

Directions

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat about 1 TBS olive or vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and green bell peppers together (sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper) for about 8 minutes, until they begin to soften and get some color. Add in the diced zucchini. Continue stirring another 5-10 minutes until veggies are all tender.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spread about 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish, tip the pan to evenly spread the sauce to cover the bottom. 
3. Add in the rotel tomatoes, beans, 1 cup of the enchilada sauce, chopped turkey, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and garlic powder to the sauteed vegetables in the skillet. Stir and bring mixture to a low simmer. Allow to simmer a few minutes. Taste test, and adjust seasonings as needed. Turn heat off. Stir in about 3 ounces of crumbled queso fresco.
4. Lay your first tortilla in the bottom of the pan (so the outside gets coated in sauce), put about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of mixture in the tortilla and roll over so that seam side is on the bottom of the pan. Repeat this process to use up all tortillas and filling mixture. You can add a little more sauce to the bottom as you go if it begins to disappear (you want to make sure each tortilla back gets at least a light sauce coating).
5. When all tortillas are filled and arranged (you can press them together tightly as you fill so they all fit), spread any remaining sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle another few ounces of queso fresco evenly over the top of the enchiladas.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until bubbly. 
7. Serve with desired toppings - guacamole, sliced avocados, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.