Empanaditas

So yesterday was National Empanada Day, so it made sense to me to whip some up for dinner. I made cheater empanadas because I'm lazy. Real empanadas, which are just a hand pie, are made with a yucca flour crust or a pie crust type crust; I used won ton wrappers. Here is a link to make some more authentic empanadas.

Empanada Recipe

Here are mine:

INGREDIENTS:
1 pkg won ton wrappers
1 chicken breast
1/2 c salsa (I used verde, but any will do, and the less chunky the better)
1/2 c shredded cheese
2 T olive oil
1/8 t garlic powder
1/8 t onion powder
1/8 t chili powder
1/8 t cumin
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:
Heat 1 T oil in saute pan to medium
Season chicken with all spices and saute until nearly cooked (5 minutes)
While chicken is cooking remove won ton wrappers from package and cut into circles
*I used a large biscuit cutter and cut about 6 at a time
After 5 minutes remove chicken from heat and cut into tiny pieces
Add salsa to saute pan and cook with chicken until chicken is cooked and most liquid is absorbed Remove chicken mixture from heat and allow to cool slightly
Put about ½ t of shredded cheese in the middle of each won ton round
Then about 1 t of chicken mix on top of that
Wet the edges of the won ton wrappers slightly with water and fold over to make half circle pockets
Use a fork to crimp the edges and get a good seal
Brush the tops of the pockets with the remaining olive oil
Place in oven for 7-10 minutes just to let the empanaditas get golden, crispy, and warm

These were super tasty, but definitely a better appetizer than dinner. And, they're obviously just baked won tons that look like emapnadas. But they are so easy. It looks like a lot of directions, but you just fill them and bake them. I think it could make a really cool dessert accoutrement too. Maybe fill them with chocolate or cherries...Yummy, Dude.

Chilaquiles

After days of having tostadas and tacos we still have a bunch of corn tortillas left. Now corn tortillas freeze really well, but if you want to use them up and are bored of eating tacos and tostadas, you can use them for breakfast.


One of our favorite dishes is chilaquiles and it's super easy. You can search and find a hundred different recipes, but this is my favorite.

INGREDIENTS:
4 corn tortillas, cut in sixths
1/2 c salsa
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 c shredded cheese
2T olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil in skillet on medium heat
Fry tortillas in batches until lightly golden brown but not super crispy
Remove tortillas and allow the pan to cool to medium low heat, about 3-5 minutes
Add tortillas back to pan and add eggs, kind of like a tortilla omelet
When eggs are almost cooked add salsa and cook until liquid is mostly absorbed
Remove pan from heat and add shredded cheese to the top and cover for 3 minutes.

This serves two, and can be served with beans if you want. Also, if you don't have salsa, you can use enchilada sauce, or tomatoes and onions. It's good with a tomatillo salsa as well. have fun with this recipe and enjoy.

Homemade Tortillas

I love Mexican food and try to eat it at least once a week. Last night I shopped and had our Mexican menu completely planned out, was set to go...but, alas, forgot the tortillas! Crap. Now, I could've gone back to the store, but I knew that making them myself was possible.

The process of creating a tortilla is so easy, in fact, once you make them I think it might be hard to go back to the old packaged kind.

Of course, I didn't have all the ingredients normal recipes call for so I improvised. Here is the recipe I used. I substituted half the flour with whole wheat, as usual. And I used light margarine for the shortening. Everything else stayed the same and they were beautiful. I urge you to try to make your own, it's so worth it.