A Meal In Need Is a Meal Indeed

When my first child was born my mother came up to help out. I needed that help badly. Since my son was born two weeks before the due date I missed out on the section of the childbirth classes that dealt with what to do after the birth. I had no idea how to pin a cloth diaper or what to do with a crying baby.

My mother stayed with us, made meals for us, and got up in the middle of the night with the baby. She'd change him, bring him to me to nurse, then take him away and put him back to bed. It was wonderful.

Of course, like all good things, it had to come to an end and she had to return home and I had to learn how to do it all on my own. After about 3 weeks, when I wasn't certain I could make it through another day, a sweet friend brought over dinner and a pan of homemade cinnamon rolls. What a wonderful gift! She had a little one of her own and told me she'd learned that the best time to bring a dinner is not right after the baby's born. That's when mom gets all the help and attention. It's several weeks after the birth, when all the helpers have gone home and mom is a sleep-deprived zombie, that the gift of a dinner means the most.



I've taken her words to heart and have now perfected my "in time of need" dinner, Easy Enchiladas. When I make the dinner for my family I double the recipe and put into zip-lock bags a meal's worth, then I have extras in the freezer for a dinner later, or I can grab one and take it to a family who's had a baby, a hospitalization, or been down with the flu and haven't been able to get to the grocery store in a week. And if they've been flooded with casseroles, they can stick the enchiladas into the freezer and pull them out when they need them.

These are not "authentic" by any stretch of the imagination, but they're quick to fix, don't call for any obscure ingredients, and my family gets happy every time these are on the menu. Even my 6 year old, who dissects his food, gobbles them up.

Easy Enchiladas
- adapted from Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook

1-1/4 lbs ground turkey
2 cups shredded Jack cheese
3/4 cup sliced green onion
3/4 cup sour cream (low-fat is OK)
3 Tbsp snipped parsley
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
24 oz. canned tomato sauce
3 Tbsp canned chopped green chilies (optional - I usually do without)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Flour tortillas
Olives (optional)
Guacamole (optional)

1- Preheat oven to 350, if you're going to cook the enchiladas today.

1- Cook and stir the ground turkey in a skillet until light brown: drain. Remove from the heat.

2- In a large bowl combine 1-1/2 cups of the cheese, the green onion, sour cream, parsley, salt, and pepper. Add the cooked meat and gently toss to combine.

3- Heat remaining ingredients, except tortillas, olives and guacamole, to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.

4- Spoon about 1/4 cup of meat mixture onto each tortilla, roll the tortilla. If you're preparing the meal to eat today, place the rolled tortillas into a rectangular baking dish (11 x 7 works well). Spread the sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

5- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Garnish with sliced olives and guacamole before serving.

To save enchiladas in the freezer, place as many as you need for a meal into a gallon zip-loc bag. In a snack-size bag, place the half cup of cheese for garnish. In a sandwich size zip-loc bag put enough sauce for topping. Seal both bags in with the enchiladas. Write baking instructions on the bag with a sharpie.

To cook, thaw the enchiladas,then follow cooking instructions above.