Green Chile Chicken (or Turkey)

We stayed home by ourselves last year for Thanksgiving.  Our family consists of me, my husband and our two small children.  I bought the smallest turkey I could find, but at 14 pounds it was still way too much turkey for our small family.  Having too much turkey after Thanksgiving is a common problem and generally people still have plenty of turkey left even after all the sides are gone.  It makes sense instead of trying re-purpose turkey for days after Thanksgiving until everyone is sick of it to instead turn your carefully prepared, leftover turkey into freezer meals that will save you time and work in the months to come.

I'm sure there are many freezer meals that could be made from leftover turkey, like soups, stews and pot pies.  You could even freeze shredded turkey by itself and use it in a similar manner as I do my pre-cooked, shredded chicken.  I came up with this recipe last Thanksgiving and it provided six dinners for my family in the months following.  I don't just like this meal because it uses up the leftover turkey and is delicious.  It is is also incredibly fast and easy.  I don't know about you, but I don't really feel like cooking any more right after Thanksgiving.  Once the turkey is cooked and shredded, all this dish requires is opening some cans and jars, mixing everything together and dividing it up for freezing. No more cooking or chopping!  I have also made this when I don't have leftover turkey to use up.  I smoke a couple chickens (or you could roast them), shred them and make it the same.  Either way, it's delicious, easy and inexpensive.

Part of what makes this so easy is that I found this Cookwell and Company Green Chile Stew at a local grocery store.  This makes it so I can just open the jars and mix everything together.  Someday I may try to see if I can replicate it from scratch.  Until then, if you can't find this particular product at your grocery store, perhaps you can find something comparable.  Some of the 505 green chile sauces might work.

Difficulty: Easy
Category: Heat and Eat
Recipe Column: BF

Serves 30

1/2 or so a roasted turkey or 2 roasted or smoked chickens, shredded

12 cups green chile stew base

8 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed

6 lbs canned hominy, drained and rinsed

6 cups shredded cheddar cheese (can be added before or after freezing depending on how you want to freeze it)

1. Combine all the ingredients.

To freeze:

Divide the mixture into the desired number of batches.  You can either freeze the mixture in bags or containers or you can put it directly in foil pans and sprinkle on shredded cheese and wrap in plastic wrap before freezing.

To serve:

Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.  If you froze it in a pan, remove plastic wrap and cover with foil.  If you froze it in another container, transfer the mixture to a pan, sprinkle with cheese and cover with foil.  Either way back at 350 degrees until 140 degrees all the way through, 30 to 45 minutes.  Remove the foil towards the end of cooking to allow the cheese a chance to brown.  Serve with sour cream and corn chips.