Chilean Empanadas

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/4 cups water, or as needed

                    

2 tablespoons olive oil                    1 small onion, chopped

1 1/2 pounds ground beef              garlic salt to taste

2 tablespoons paprika                    1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper  1/2 cup raisins

1 tablespoon white vinegar              2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender, or pinching into small pieces using your fingers, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Use a fork to stir in water a few tablespoons at a time, until the mixture forms a ball. Pat into a ball, and flatten slightly. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.              

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender. Crumble in the beef, and season with salt, paprika, cumin and black pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until beef is browned. Drain excess grease, and stir in the raisins and vinegar. Refrigerate until chilled, then stir in the hard-cooked eggs.

Form the dough into 2 inch balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball out into a thin circle. Spoon some of the meat mixture onto the center, then fold into half-moon shapes. Seal edges by pressing with your fingers.  Bake at 400 F for 25-30 minutes.

Makes 16 empanadas

Johan

Chicken Broccoli Braid

2 cups diced, cooked chicken meat                    1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped                   
1/2 cup red/green bell pepper, chopped             1 clove crushed garlic

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese                       1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons dried dill weed                                1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons slivered almonds                         1/4 cup diced onion

2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls   1 egg white, beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss together chicken, broccoli, bell pepper, garlic, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, dill weed, salt, almonds and onion.

Unroll crescent roll dough, and arrange flat on a medium baking sheet. Pinch together perforations to form a single sheet of dough. Using a knife or scissors, cut 1 inch wide strips in towards the center, starting on the long sides. There should be a solid strip about 3 inches wide down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side. Spread the chicken mixture along the center strip. Fold the side strips over chicken mixture, alternating strips from each side. Pinch or twist to seal.

Brush braided dough with the egg white. Bake in the preheated oven 25 to 28 minutes, or until golden brown

Johan

I use 1 full egg to brush the braid

Tacozagna

Click here for a link to the tacozagna recipe I made last week: Or just look below.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 1/2 pounds ground turkey or ground sirloin
• 1 zucchini
• 2 carrots, peeled
• 1 onion, peeled
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 tablespoons chili powder, 3 palm fulls
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2/3 palm full
• 1 tablespoon coriander, a palm full
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup beef stock
• 6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 3 cups shredded Chihuahua cheese or Monterey Jack
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 2 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped
• 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat a large high sided skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add the meat and brown, 5 minutes. While meat browns, grate the zucchini and carrots with a box grater. Add the vegetables to the meat and grate in the onion and garlic. Season the meat with chili, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and cook 7 to 8 minutes more to soften vegetables. Stir in beef stock. Grease a 8 by 13-inch baking pan with vegetable oil. Layer in 3 overlapping flour tortillas and top with 1/3 meat, 1/3 cheese. Repeat the layers twice and bake 10 to 12 minutes to brown cheese. Top with scallions, lettuce and tomatoes, cut into squares and serve.

Fancy Meatloaf

Ingredients (not including "fancy"  relish on top...see below for that)

2 lbs ground beef

3/4 old-fashioned oats

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 c. ketchup

1/4 c. milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup ketchup

3 T. brown sugar

2 tsp. mustard

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Shape into 2 loafs (or divide among muffin tins). Bake at 350 for 40 minutes (or 15 minutes for muffin tins). Combine 1/2 cup ketchup, sugar, and mustard. Spoon over meatloaf. Serves 6.

To make it more "fancy" meatloaf, you can make the relish below and put it on top:

Relish:

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced 

2 bay leaves

1 red pepper, diced

1 (14oz) can petite diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (or 1 1/2 T. dried)

12 oz ketchup

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

4 slices of bacon

Saute onion, garlic, and bay leaves in olive oil over medium heat. Add bell pepper and saute till soft. Add tomatoes. Stir in parsley, ketchup, Worcestershire and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes; then remove from heat.

When making meatloaf, add 1 1/2 cups of relish to meat mixture. Follow the rest of the meatloaf directions above. After forming 2 logs and placing them on the cookie sheet, coat the top of each meatloaf with 1/2 cup relish. Lay bacon across the top lengthwise.

When done cooking, pull the meatloaf out from the oven and allow it to rest 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with extra relish on the side.

My notes: I think I doubled this recipe and it made A LOT (enough for 4 good sized logs). If you double it, keep in mind that you may not necessarily need to double ALL the ingredients...I did and it felt like it was falling apart really easily. After making it with the bacon, I don't really think the bacon is necessary. Neither is adding the relish directly to the meatloaf mixture before cooking (although it's fine if you want to). Having it on top (or on the side) is good enough in my opinion.

Black Beans with Chorizo and Spinach

Ingredients
2 poblano peppers
10 oz. Mexican (not Spanish) chorizo sausage
10 oz. spinach
2- 15oz. cans of black beans
1/2 cup queso añejo (sometimes called queso cotija)
1/2 cup sliced red onion


Instructions
1. Wash the poblano peppers and place them on a baking sheet under the broiler until the skin begins to blacken and blister, then turn them over and blacken the other side.  Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.


2. Remove the casing from the chorizo and cook over medium heat in a large soup pot.  Stir regularly and break into small pieces, about 8 to 10 minutes.  It can be hard to tell when the chorizo is finished since it looks the same before and after cooking, so keeping a timer on is a good idea.


3. While the chorizo is cooking, place the spinach in a microwaveable bowl, cover with plastic wrap, poke a few holes in it, and cook on high for 2 minutes to wilt the spinach.  Set aside.


4. Once the chorizo is ready, add the beans with their liquid, and 1 cup of water.  Simmer for 10 minutes.


5.  Remove the stems and seeds from the poblanos, and peel off as much of the skin as possible.  Cut them into thin strips, about 1/4 inch, and add to the beans.  Add the spinach, and return to a boil for 5 minutes.


6. Remove beans from heat and add cheese and onions.