Make Empanadas!
I had about 2 cups of shredded chicken from our dinner last night. R said to make some chicken salad - but it was a little too much chicken to do that since I'm the only one who eats chicken salad. Then I remembered a recipe from Paula Deen that we used back in November for Empanadas. Perfect! I don't know where Paula gets her measurements because this recipe makes way more than 12-15 empanadas.
Here is the recipe as I used it:
2 cups of cooked chicken, chopped
1 tbs. green chilis (can)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2-1/2 tsp. cumin
4-5 oz. of colby jack cheese, shredded
4 oz. light cream cheese, softened
Package of refrigerated pie crusts (2 in a pack)
Start to finish the whole process takes about an hour to prepare and then about 15 minutes to bake. First, combine all ingredients except pie crust. Mix well. Roll out pie crust on a lightly floured surface to about 15 inches. Using a 3 inch round cookie/biscuit cutter, cut out as many circles as you can from the dough, repeat until all the dough has been used. My batch made about 40-42 empanadas (enough for 2 meals).
Wet edges of dough with water, fill with a teaspoon of filling (you may need to adjust the amount a little. Don't put too much or it will ooze out the sides) fold over and crimp the edges with a fork. Repeat about 40 times! Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. I flip the empanadas after about 10 minutes so they don't get too dark on the bottom.
If you don't want to bake all 40 empanadas at once, you can freeze them and then bake them when you are ready to eat. I freeze them flat on a plate or cookie sheet and then transfer to a zipper bag.
Delicious!