baked empanadas

Ingredients:

1lb of ground beef

½ white onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

¼ - ½ cup of tomato sauce

2 tbsps of taco seasoning, southwest seasoning, or another Mexican seasoning

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

1 -2 eggs, beaten

Non-stick spray

Hot sauce, optional

2 store bought pie crusts

Large circle cookie cutter, wide rimmed glass, or knife

Cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400. Over medium heat in a pan or pot, heat olive oil, and add the onions and jalapenos and cook until the onions begin to get translucent. Add in the ground beef and garlic, and continue to cook until the meat is cooked through. Add the tomato sauce, your choice of seasoning, salt, pepper, and hot sauce (optional). Combine well, and cook together for about 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and set aside. Spray your aluminum foil lined cookie sheet with non-stick spray, and set aside as well. Lay your pie crusts out. Using a cookie cutter or wide rimmed glass or knife, cut circles from the pie crusts. Depending how large your circles are will depend on the size of the empanadas. I was able to get 7 small empanadas from each pie crust. On one half of the empanada, fill with about 2 tbsps of the meat filling. Brush the edges of the empanada lightly with the egg, then fold the empanada closed. Close up the edges of the empanada using a fork to press the edges together, or use your fingers to roll the edges together. Set the empanada on the prepared cookie sheet, and brush the top lightly with the egg. Repeat until all the empanadas are made. Bake the empanadas for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, or any other accompaniments. Enjoy!

*note: if you don’t want to make a lot of empanadas, you can use 1 pie crust, and freeze the meat mixture until you are ready to make more, or make ½ the mixture. Once baked, the empanadas can be stored in the fridge or frozen.