Empanadas...Tasty!

I'm sorry it's been so long. Last week was a little rough. I had a friend in the hospital and I spent most of my time hanging out there with her. Let me tell you, hospitals are just no fun, and I'm not even going to discuss the food! Yuck. How can anyone get better eating that stuff?


On a tastier note, I made empanadas last night for dinner. I'm sure there are empanada purists out there who will take exception to my approach, but it worked for us! First I found a picadillo recipe that I liked. Then I broke it down, reassembled it and voila, empanadas with potatoes and black beans. No olives or raisins here. My dislike for olives is legendary and the niece is highly allergic to raisins. The potatoes and black beans were tasty but not photogenic, but that's another story.

 

Empanadas

1 pkg frozen dough discs (I used Delicious Bite - Authentic Latin American Style Easy Dough Artisan Dough Discs)
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 tbsp olive oil
1 med. bell pepper, chopped
1/2 med yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 c beer
1 15oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/4 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 egg
splash of water

• Thaw frozen discs and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a large, deep, stainless steel skillet, saute onion, garlic and pepper until onion is translucent and fragrant
• Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink
• Stir in the beer, tomatoes, tomato paste, cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper and Tabasco sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Spray 2 cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray
• You'll need to remove a protective film from between each layer as you use it.
• Using a kitchen tablespoon (not a measuring spoon, that big tablespoon in your silverware drawer), put one spoonful of the meat mixture in the center of one disc.
• Fold the disc over and crimp the edges together. You can roll them or use a fork, whatever works.
• Place the sealed meat pie on the cookie sheet.
• Repeat the last three steps for each disc. The box I used had 14 discs which was enough to comfortably serve 4 and I had some filling left over.
• Once all your discs are filled, beat the egg with a splash of water to make an egg wash
• Brush the tops of the empanadas with the egg wash
• Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

 Just a little note here, have I mentioned tomato paste in a tube on here yet? Best. Innovation. Ever. Seriously. I have recipes like this and I never know what to do with the rest of the can of tomato paste; with tomato paste in a tube I don't have to worry about it. I use the 2 tbsp., put the lid back on the tube and move on. No fuss, no muss, and better yet, no waste!

Potatoes and Black Beans

1 pound baking potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup black beans
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil

• Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and cook stirring occasionally until golden brown. About 8-10 minutes.
• Add black beans and cook until heated through, 3-5 minutes more. I always have black beans in my freezer so I just grab a bag and throw them in. You can drain a can of black beans and do the same.

Leftovers? No worries! Just combine your leftover meat mixture with the leftover potatoes and beans. It's a great one dish meal that's easy to reheat and serve.