main course, Mexican Cuisine

Still Thankful – Four Ways to Enjoy Leftovers

by Irene

Although our Canadian Thanksgiving is observed in October, I had – in the past – cooked an encore turkey dinner for the American occasion, since Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday.  This time, though, was the first year as empty nesters for my husband and me, and I have been trapped in bed with a nasty cold for a few days now, so we settled for a supermarket rotisserie chicken and a salad.  Believe or not, we still had leftovers, and seeing no recovery from my cold in the horizon, I used my imagination and grabbed a few items from the cupboard to fix a quick Mexican dinner; I was very thankful to be able to prevent waste, and save myself from cooking a meal from scratch.  I thought I would share the experience, since this dish might also come in handy for people in the USA who are currently trying to find new ways to use their leftovers, by simply using shredded turkey meat instead of chicken.

Chicken in green sauce – Pollo en salsa verde

2 cups green sauce (my homemade cooked green sauce, or bottled)
½ cup water
2 cups cooked chicken meat (or turkey); shredded
1 can cooked pickled cactus (nopales); rinsed and drained (or green beans)
2 potatoes; cooked and cubed (peeling optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot over medium heat, bring sauce and water to a boil; add shredded meat, and stir to coat:

Let simmer for a few minutes, then add nopales (or green beans), followed by the potatoes:

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and continue cooking and stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are hot.  Serve with corn tortillas or bread, and lime wedges:

chicken in green sauce birds view

Sorry there is no printable recipe (I think I will go crash in bed shortly).  To make up for that, I am also including links to three more of my recipes that call for cooked chicken (or use turkey instead, of course):

bean and chicken tostadasBean and Chicken Tostadas

 

 

 

 

 

 

enchiladas-suizas-square-frame.jpg Swiss Enchiladas

 

 

 

 

 

 

000 salpicon Salpicón – this recipe calls for beef, but many people have proven the versatility of this dish in recent years, by using chicken or turkey instead.

 

 

 

 

 

I am joining What’s for Dinner? Sunday Link-up graciously hosted by Helen @ The Lazy Gastronome

I am also joining Lisa @ makeaheadmealsforbusymoms.com graciously hosting her Melt in Your Mouth Monday Recipe Blog Hop #386

And I am joining Mary @ Cactus Catz and her Tummy Tuesday, this week with a yummy review of Mod Pizza.

I am sharing my recipe at Full Plate Thursday #460 with Miz Helen @ Miz Helen´s Country Cottage.

I am bringing my recipe to Fiesta Friday #304 with Angie @ Fiesta Friday, this week co-hosting with Laurena @ Life Diet Health

23 thoughts on “Still Thankful – Four Ways to Enjoy Leftovers”

      1. Must admit, I’m a bit of a newcomer to Mexican. We like burritos and tacos. Many years ago we visited a local restaurant that served Mexico fried potato peelings. Don’t know if they were authentic but they were very tasty, I remember.

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      2. Can’t go wrong with tacos and burritos; I think those potatoes were invented in the US, and the ones with Mexican style stuffing became popular. The flavours, though, are Mexican.

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      3. We really like spicy foods and are curently exploring all things Indian but Mexican is on our list next. We had a local eatery dedicated to all things Mexican but it closed down before we could venture there for a try out.

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  6. Yum, I sure would like that for my tea tonight. Thanks for sharing, no need for any left-overs to be scrapped, I’m a great believer of that. Peace my friend, hope you are feeling better soon.

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  7. love the different ways to use the leftover bird. When I was a kid, I loved the turkey sandwiches we would have for the next few days after Thanksgiving. Leftovers was my favorite part of Thanksgiving.

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  10. I hope by now you have fully recovered but what a great choice to get you feeling better! I’ve no idea what pickled cactus tastes like but I’m going to look it up to see if we can get it here! Thanks for sharing this useful and no doubt flavoursome dish at Fiesta Friday!

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  11. This looks like a delicious way to use up those leftovers! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday and come back to see us real soon!
    Miz Helen

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