empanad-anza

So I’ve been eating these ravenously all week (yay for easy recipes that make twelve servings!), but am just getting around to actually posting them!

I give you… delicious, sweet n savory, crusty, and, get this, healthy, empanadas!

Spooning happily on the plate.

So here’s what I did. I assembled my veggies:

 

Based on some browsing, I decided to include half a sweet potato (yum!) half an onion (pretty obvious) and half a jalapeno (straight from the farm stand!).

I browned up those guys in just a little bit of veggie oil (adding the jalapeno last, for eye-killing vapor prevention).

Then I drained some beef… GROSS OUT SHOT!

 

When I’m home, I tend to be vigilant around the meat products, and make sure that when I cook things like ground beef, I use a method that allows fat to DRAIN (grilling, browning and draining, etc.). Because my mom is a gal who likes to save a buck, she buys Costco beef. A pound and a half of the stuff yielded, as you can see, almost a CUP of DRIPPING SATURATED FAT. AAAAAGH!

Anyway, back to the filling.

Nice, huh? I browned and drained the beef, put about half of it (so about 3/4 of a pound, uncooked) back in the pan with the veg, and made it more filling-y with a dab of tomato paste and the last of the V8 (1/4 cup or less). Then I added lotsa cinnamon and cumin!

Assembly time!

My mom was kind enough to make the dough when I was off at the gym. We used this recipe, and I can’t say enough good things. Very tasty, very healthy (lookit all the whole grains! We used stone ground cornmeal, too), and soooo user friendly. The rolling process, pictured below, was a breeze!

Put the dough circle in your hand, then scoop (I used a 1/4 cup measuring scoop, which was perfect) the filling into the center, and bring the sides together to make a half circle.

There was a bit of a filling shortage, so I used the leftover dough to make CHEDDAR AND CHUTNEY MINI EMPANADAS!

So, so delicious! My mom uses that combination on baked potatoes, and it is SO GOOD!

Here are the final ones, hot outta the oven:

Oh crusty goodness! The crust is delicious and savory, with wonderful flavors coming from the garlic powder and the cornmeal (I cannot get enough cornmeal!) It’s also very filling and crusty and comforting, while at the same time retaining a lightness of texture and crispness.

And a word on the filling—well, two. First word: it’s delicious! It’s savory and sweet, tangy from the jalapeno and spices, pleasantly chewy from the sweet potato. Second word: it just gets better! Every day I keep the empanadas, they get tastier! And they reheat with a simple zap in the micro!

So, and sorry this post is so monstrous but as you can tell I’m in love with these things, here is the dinner I was able to throw together tonight (after arriving home at 9, after commuting, after almost 11 hours of work!)

Que bonita!

The side salad was just beautiful fresh tomato, beautiful fresh avocado, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil.

I almost deleted this cause I know there are a ridiculous number of pictures, but doesn’t the plate look kind of like a nose with a smile underneath? Anyone?!