This open faced turkey cranberry melt is like taking the insides of Thanksgiving enchilada and melting cheese on top of a buttered roll; an insanely delicious way to eat those leftovers.
Every year a week or two before Thanksgiving, the conversation in our family goes a little some thing like this…
Person 1: “let’s just do a simple meal this year.”
Person 2: “yes, totally agree. just turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, potatoes and something green.”
Person 1: “yes, perfect. We don’t need ALL THAT FOOD!”
Person 3 (my mom): “Ok, but I love the butternut squash.”
Persons 1 & 2: “Ok, we’ll do butternut squash too”
Person 3 (my mom): “Oh, and we HAVE to have the mushrooms.”
Persons 1 & 2: <eye rolling begins>
Person 3 (my mom): “And the artichokes!”
Persons 1 & 2: “Mom! That’s not simple any more!”
And on, and on and on….
So of course we inevitably end up with a Thanksgiving table packed to the gills with every hot plate in the house used up underneath all the serving dishes. Simplicity is apparently not possible in my family.
Which leads to me being sent home with 2 big pyrex filled baking dishes worth of leftovers and a husband who pretty much wants to kill me when I tell him we’re eating Thanksgiving dinner for the 5th night in a row.
So this year, I’m attempting to get a bit more creative with how we use leftovers and this sandwich is meal #1. It’s like Thanksgiving goes Mexican on top of a buttered toasted roll. Sound weird? Yeah, probably a little. But…it’s basically like the inside of an enchilada gets a Thanksgiving makeover and then gets slathered on a sandwich roll. How can you not like that?!
Open Faced Turkey Cranberry Enchilada Melt
Ingredients
- 2 rolls, sliced in half
- butter
- 8 slices swiss cheese
- 1 cup leftover turkey, shredded
- 1/2 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup salsa
- 1/4 sour cream
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2/3 cup leftover cranberry sauce
- 1/4 cup grated white cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Butter each slice of the rolls and lightly toast.
- Combine the remaining ingredients except the swiss cheese slices in a bowl and mix together.
- Divide the mixture on top of each roll half.
- Top with 2 slices of swiss cheese and broil until the cheese is melted and the roll becomes crispy and golden brown.
- Remove from the broiler and serve warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
This is most definitely the best way to do leftovers!!
this is the most creative way to use leftovers that I have seen – we always have WAY too much food also, and I love a good leftover sandwich