Empinadas

I tried empinadas for the first time at a festival in the park over the summer. I played improve in the kitchen last night and came up with this fantastic recipe! This filling makes a lot! I only used half of it. I put the rest in a freezer bag and threw in the freezer. You could choose to double the dough recipe if you want to make a lot more! Using this dough recipe, as is, I was able to make 24 empinadas.

Filling

Brown the following together. Then drain:

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped

In a mixing bowl dump:

cooked meat mixture
1 small can chopped olives
3 T Cilantro, chopped
1, 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
1 packet taco season

Dough

Cut shortening into flour until crumbly:

2 cups flour (I used 1 T wheat and 1 T oat flour)
1 cup shortening

slowly add water while fluffing with a fork:

1/2 cup water

Roll dough out until really thin. Cut circles out with buiscut cutter or ring off a quart jar. Spoon a tablespoon of filling onto the circle.

Fold the circle in half and pinch the top. Then pinch the sides together. It took a couple of these to figure how not to lose my filling. :)

Place the crescent moon shaped empinadas onto a cookie sheet and brush with a mixture of:

1 egg yolk
1 T milk

Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Serve with cilantro lime rice and refried beans.