Leftover Meat & Veg Enchiladas
I love leftovers meals. Seriously. They are often my favourite meals of the week. Most of our lunches are leftovers. Last night’s dinner often gets popped in my husband’s lunchbox for work, and my kids scoff down any extra, or leftover lunches or dinners from earlier in the week. Saturdays we often end up having a “whatever’s in the fridge” lunch.
And if you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed that when I share what I’m having for lunch or snack on stories, it’s very often just a bunch of leftover cooked veggies and occasionally meat on a plate, usually with a bit of avocado and/or egg added for good measure!
My French farm-raised mother taught me a lot about re-using and re-purposing leftovers. We had a leftover bits and bobs meal usually at least once a week, and I loved the “break the rules” feel of putting together things that you never normally would and getting to pick a little bit of all of my favourite meals from the week to add to my plate.
I’ve continued that tradition in my own home, but I also love turning leftovers into whole new meals of their own. It creates less food waste, is dirt cheap, and means less prep time in the kitchen to get a delicious healthy meal on the table.
I have some favourite ways of re-making leftovers into meals that I rely heavily on, and none is more enjoyable to me than an enchilada dinner. Or to my family, who love these – I sometimes think my kids will eat just about anything if you put it in a wrap!
And it’s so simple: grab some leftover meat, leftover or frozen chopped veg, and sauce and add in a bit of seasoning. Dump in a wrap, roll up and cover in sauce and cheese. After a bit of baking time, it’s hot, yummy, healthy and cheap as anything!
Plus, kids can so easily get involved. If cooked meat needs shredding, let them have a go. Get them choosing and mixing veg, stirring sauce. Older kids can grate cheese. Let them taste the veggies as they help you.
Healthy, super cheap, simple, quick, delicious. I love this recipe – can you tell?
These enchiladas are delicious, and they use up leftovers perfectly to help reduce your food waste. They are quick, easy, super adaptable, and very affordable.
- 4-6 wholegrain or corn tortillas (for 4 people - adjust as needed)
- leftover cooked meat (pulled chicken or pork work particularly well here), about a handful per person
- leftover cooked veg (or use frozen and cook through), about 2-3 handfuls per person
- 1 jar (700g/24oz) passata (or use a low sugar enchilada sauce if you like, but check ingredients to make sure you are happy with them)
- salt & pepper, to taste
- your choice of herbs & spices (we like ground coriander, ground cumin, smoked paprika and oregano), to taste
- 2-3 handfuls of grated hard cheese like Cheddar
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Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Mix the meat and veg together with half the passata. Season to taste with salt & pepper and some spices and herbs, if using.
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Divide between the tortilla wraps and roll up to seal. Place in a large casserole dish and pour over the remaining sauce and scatter over the cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling and the corners of the wraps have crisped up. Serve hot.
