Leftovers by any other name ...

It’s a week to Thankgsiving. Don’t panic! You still have time to get your feast in order. Follow my Countdown to Thanksgiving timeline, to a flawless day. 

In the meantime, it’s a perfect time to make room in your fridge, freezer, and pantry for all the special ingredients you need for your Thanksgiving meal, and the holiday baking that is sure to follow.

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I made pork and pumpkin enchiladas with leftover Apple Pork Roast from family dinner, leftover pumpkin purée from Pumpkin-Hazelnut-White Chocolate Biscotti, roasted garlic from Garlic Oil I made as gifts for clients, and lettuce, cheddar, and flour tortillas from the taco shindig my son had when his friends were home from college for the weekend. 

Enchiladas (or tacos or burritos or quesadillas) are a perfect way to remake leftovers. Use one meat (or none or several), whatever veggies and beans available, cheese, sauce (doesn’t need to be enchilada sauce or even red sauce, there are green chile enchilada sauces, cream-based enchilada sauces, try it with what you have), and flour tortillas (I always keep these in the freezer), and there you have it, enchiladas!


Pork and pumpkin enchiladas

1 c juice drained from 28-oz can of peeled whole tomatoes
1 c pumpkin purée
1 t–1 T hot sauce, to your preferred SQ (spicy quotient)

4 c leftover cooked pork, diced
1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 c pumpkin purée
3 T roasted garlic
3 c shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 c shredded lettuce
remainder of 28-oz can of whole tomatoes, squeezed and smashed
2 T hot sauce, to your desired SQ
12 flour tortillas

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine 1 cup juice drained from whole tomatoes, 1 cup pumpkin, and hot sauce in a shallow dish, set aside. In a large bowl, combine pork, beans, remaining pumpkin, garlic, 2 cup cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and hot sauce, and mix well.

Dip both sides of one tortilla in the shallow dish of sauce, fill tortilla with about ½ cup pork mixture, roll tortilla, and place seam down in the casserole dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas until all pork filling is used. Top with remaining cup of cheese, distributing so that all tortillas are covered. Cover with foil that has been coated with cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes more until cheese is bubbly, by not brown.