The other night while going through my mail I decided to read through one of my  Laithwaites Catalogs. I can’t believe I never noticed that they have been sending me recipes to pair with my stellar wine subscription. If you have never heard of Laithwaites Wine I highly recommend researching it! Cabernets are always my favorite and in my most recent mailer was a recipe for Empanadas said to pair perfectly with either a Cab or Malbec. I decided to give it a try while adding my own special flair. They turned out amazing and were perfect served with my Easy Queso and Lazy Girl Guacamole. I would like to find a different way to do the crust, mine was a little thick and dry but it was very very easy.

 

Empanadas.jpg

 

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 Box Refrigerated Pie Crust (you will need two crusts total)
  • 1 Egg (beaten)
  • 1/2 lb. Ground Venison (ground beef will work too)
  • 1/3 lb. Ground Chorizo
  • 1 Yellow Onion (minced)
  • 1 Clove Garlic (minced)
  • 1 Red Bell Pepper (diced small)
  • 1 -4oz Can Jalapenos
  • 1/4 t. Paprika
  • 2 T. Olive Oil

 

Queso & Empanadas.jpg

 

 

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
  3. I threw all my veggies (peppers, onion and garlic) together in my Chopper and pulsed a few times to perfection but you could easily dice and mince by hand.
  4. Heat veggies in a pan for about 5 min.
  5. While veggies are cooking roll out your pie dough and cut out using a large round cookie cutter or even a glass.
  6. Roll out your cut outs to make them a little larger and thinner, then set aside.
  7. Add your meats to the skillet and cook through.
  8. Drain off fat.
  9. In the center of each pie dough cut out place a spoon full of your mixture.
  10. Fold the dough in half so the edges meet and press together with a fork to seal your ends.
  11. Place your sealed empanadas on a non-stick cookie sheet.
  12. Brush your tops with the egg.
  13. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.