It’s football season, which means there’s gonna be a Saturday or a Sunday sometime in the next few months when feeding a crowd is gonna be unavoidable. Whether you’re having people over for a game-watch or a tailgate, this Enchilada Pie is the perfect game plan (see what I did, there?) This dish’ll serve 10-12 people (and we aren’t talkin’ skimpy portions), and it comes together in about an hour – most of that time’ll be spent waiting for the pie to finish baking, which leaves plenty of time for yard games, beer drinkin’ or whatever other game day activities you’ve got on deck (the sports puns just keep.on.comin).
This dish is similar to enchiladas in flavor, but different in consistency: where enchiladas are super saucy and a little flimsy, this pie is sturdier and not at all soupy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not perfectly juicy and flavorful (because it totally is, despite being less than 300 cals per serving!). I serve this cheesy, meaty, slightly spicy dish with some store-bought guac, plain Greek yogurt disguised as sour cream, salsa and hot sauce because, as far as I’m concerned, it’s not game day without a lil’ guac and excessive condiment consumption.
If you don’t need to feed quite so many people, you can still make the full recipe; this dish is excellent leftover: the ‘crust’ gets sturdier overnight and the flavors really show up the next day, but, if you’re not into leftovers, you can always cut the recipe in half and make it in an 8×8 baking dish. Personally, I love to serve this right out of the cast-iron skillet – here’s how I make it.
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground turkey *I use a 93/7 blend
1 package small white corn tortillas *you’ll need 23 total
1 14 or 28 oz jar store-bought red enchilada sauce {you only need 14 ounces, but my store only sells large cans}
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz bag Fiesta Blend or Mexican Blend shredded cheese
1 large yellow or brown onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
3 tsp chili powder
2 tsp each paprika, cumin & garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper and dried oregano
1/4 tsp each cayenne pepper and red chili flakes
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 12.5″ cast iron skillet (liberally) with non-stick spray and line the skillet with 8 tortillas so that the tortillas overlap, as shown in the picture. Bake the tortillas for 12-15 minutes, until they have started to curl up on the edges and stiffen a bit. Once finished baking, remove the skillet and bump the heat up to 400 degrees.
While you bake the tortillas, coat the bottom of a deep-sided, large saute pan with avocado or olive oil and heat over medium heat.
Add the turkey, onion, peppers and 1 tsp each of salt and pepper and saute for 10 minutes, until the turkey is almost all the way browned and the veggies are softening.
Add the rest of the spices {chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, salt, oregano, cayenne and chili flakes} and stir to combine.
Add the can of tomatoes with their juice and 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese and stir to combine. Remove from the heat.
Add 10 more tortillas to the sides of the cast-iron skillet to form the ‘walls’ of the pie, as shown in the picture. Using a slotted spoon, add half of the meat mixture on top of the tortillas and top that with a light sprinkle of cheese (about a handful).
Fold the ‘wall’ tortillas over and place one more tortilla on the center to completely enclose the meat mixture. This step will result in something resembling a giant Crunchwrap (don’t act like you’ve never had one). I’ve got a picture here showing what this should look like.
Top that layer of tortillas with the rest of the meat mixture so that the meat mixture is about 2 inches in from the sides of the pie. Top the pie with 5 more tortillas – arrange them so that they overlap with no gaps.
Pour 14 ounces of enchilada sauce (half of one large can of enchilada sauce) right over the top of the dish, and top that with the rest of the bag of shredded cheese.
Bake at 400, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Bake for another 20 minutes, covered. Serve with guac, sour cream (or Greek yogurt – no one will know!), salsa, hot sauce, cilantro and lime, if desired. Enjoy! (…and go Clemson!)
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Yield: 1 12.5 inch skillet pie
Serving Size: 1/10 – 1/12 of pie, depending on how big you cut the slices
Calories: For 1/10: 305 calories per serving. For 1/12: 255 calories per serving
Dietary Info: Gluten Free