I am not the neatest cook, so my empanadas don't look nearly as nice as Paula's or Sandra's, but they sure did taste good! I made 16 and had no leftovers, so I'd say that's a pretty good endorsement from my guys!
Easy Breezy Empanadas
Ingredients:
2 refrigerated pie crusts
2 cans of chicken breast or three cups of shredded leftover chicken
1/2 block of cream cheese, softened
1/2 large can of enchilada sauce
1-1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar mixed cheese plus extra to sprinkle on top
Mix together the chicken, cream cheese, sauce and shredded cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle some flour on a surface that you can roll the crusts out on (I just put wax paper on my counter). Roll out one of the crusts and cut into circles using a 3" cookie cutter. I am not a baker so I don't have a cookie cutter. The can the chicken came is was 3" in diameter so I used that! 6 You should be able to get 6 circles out of the crust, and two more out of the scraps, for a total of 16 cirlces out of the two crusts. Roll each circle out to about 4". Put a spoonful of the mixture in the center of each circle.
Fold the top of the circle over to meet the bottom and press edges with a fork all the way around to seal. The recipes I've seen say to brush the edges with water before sealing but I didn't find this to be necessary.
Put empanadas on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until crust is browned. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and put back in oven to melt the cheese.
I served the empanadas with sour cream and picante sauce on the side for dipping and a side dish of black beans with a can of Rotel tomatoes (diced tomatoes with green chiles mixed in for you non-Southerners) mixed in. Next time I make these I think I'll jazz them up with some peppers or maybe use picante sauce instead of enchilada sauce.
