My first time cooking Beef Empanadas!

Beef Picadillo Empanadas

Hi there, Blogosphere!  Today is my first post and my first time cooking beef empanadas!  So stoked and completely lost on the blog part, my writing is questionable and my camera is cheapo.  The empanadas though, those came out pretty fantastic.  Well, my daughter gave them two-thumbs up.  

If you're like me, you found this post via Pinterest and completely scrolled past all this blah, blah, blah.  Gosh, I hope you take a sec though, because there are a few things that I wish I had done a bit better and I'll have to update this post when I go for round two.

This attempt was based on THIS recipe I found (via Pinterest) from  Num's The Word.  The recipe seemed incredibly easy and it was!  I added potatoes to my beef mixture because I love carbs and try to find a way to add them to just about everything...yes, I acknowledge that I have an addiction.  Anywho, I made a beef picadillo that my grandma would give a critical side-eye to.  I let my potatoes cook too long and they started to break up.  Mashed potatoes and beef was not the goal here, so I will definitely keep a better eye on them next time.  I also could have rolled out the pie crusts a bit thinner.  Doing so would have yielded more empanada crusts...oh well, next time.

These also go great with a bit of sour cream, fresh cut avocado, and/or your favorite salsa.

Ingredients

• 1 pkg pre-made pie crust (2 rolls come in a pkg)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pad of butter (aprox. 2 tsp.)
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 medium bell pepper, diced
• 2 medium russet potatoes, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
• 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (I use more bc I'm in love with it)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 cup favorite melting cheese (I used a colby/jack blend bc I had it on hand)
• 1 egg, beat

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375F
2. Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over med-high heat.
3. Once hot, add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to saute for 3 mins.
4. Add in beef and break up in to small crumbles with a wooden spoon.
5. When beef begins to brown toss in potatoes, tomatoes, and spices.
6. Toss to mix well
7. Add beef stock and lower heat to medium-low for 25 mins or until potatoes are tender and liquid is cooked off, then set aside to cool slightly.
8. Roll out pie crusts on a lightly floured surface.
9. Using a bowl, cut out 6 inch circles from the crusts. (I used my kiddo's cereal bowl.  Try to roll a bit, so you can yield about 7 circles.)
10. Scoop 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of beef mixture onto the pie crust and sprinkle with a bit of cheese.
11. Folder over and pinch seam together with a fork.
12. Place empanadas on a cookie sheet and brush the crusts with the beat egg.
13. Bake in oven for 15-20 mins.
14. Enjoy!