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Friday, October 21, 2011

Empanadas

I must be in a Mexican sort of mood these days, because it is all I want to eat. Yesterday, I had a bean and rice breakfast burrito, a burrito bowl from my favorite restaurant for lunch, and a tortilla casserole for dinner (don't worry, recipe coming soon, and it's good). I think I get it from my husband, he lived in Mexico for 2 years, and his love is seriously rubbing off on me. Of course, I think he regrets it when he has to deal with barking spiders in his bed at night. 

Empanadas are Latin American pastries that are either savory or sweet. They are usually stuffed with meat and cheese, and veggies, then deep fried. We ate a lot of them when we visited Mexico. This is probably why I gained about 5 lbs that week. But it was so worth it. So, this week, when I've been craving Mexican food like crazy, these were on the top of my list. But I had a couple requirements, 1) Not deep fried. It's one thing to gain 5 lbs on vacation, it's quite another to gain 5 lbs while at home. 2) No meat, and no cheese. And 3) fast and easy. I have 3 kids, I don't have time to make pastry dough by hand and all that business. And I'm kind of lazy. 

A quick word about cheese, and a confession. I used soy cheese in this. Don't. The only vegan cheese I've found (and I've tried a lot of them) that even comes close to dairy cheese is Daiya. The other stuff is not even worth your time, unless cheese isn't that important to you. Cheese is definitely that important to me. Which leads to my confession. Daiya is not readily available to me here in Ohio. And that makes me sad. But you know what makes me sadder? A life without cheese. So sometimes, I might post a recipe with cheese. Don't light your torches and grab your pitchforks, I just really like cheese. I guess I'm a vegan+cheese? Or a vegetarian-with-no-milk-and-eggs? I think I'll just stick with planty. 

Anyway, less words, more FOOD! 

Empanadas
Makes 4 pastries, but easy to double
  • 1 Pillsbury pie crust (only Pillsbury, generics are made with lard, Pillsbury is made with shortening)
  • 1 can pinto beans
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 2 cups prepared rice
  • 1 tbsp cumin 
  • 1/4 c fresh cilantro
  • Daiya or other cheese of your choice
  • Lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, other taco-type toppings of your choice
Soy Cheese, blech.
  • Preheat the oven to 350. 
  • Cook the rice, rinse the beans and pour them into a bowl.
  • Add the cumin and the cilantro to the rice, mix it all up. 
  • Add the salsa to the beans, mix it all up.
  • Put the lime in the coconut and mix... wait.... wrong day. Sorry. 
  • Unroll the pie crust, and cut it in half.
Like so. 

  • Put some rice, and some beans on the bottom of one half. Top with cheese. But not soy cheese.

Like so. 

  • Fold the pie crust over, and crimp the edges. 
  • Repeat with the rest of the pie crust. You will end up with 4 pastries.  

  • Bake these for about 30 minutes, or until the crust in flaky and beginning to brown. 
  • Top with the taco toppings, and eat with a fork.
Man, just writing this makes me want to go back to Mexico... And as treat for you, a picture of a very pregnant Planty Mom in Mexico, drinking some coconut juice with plenty of lime. :)


4 comments:

  1. Going to make these tonight. However, I couldn't find a pie crust at my local grocery store that wasn't made with lard. Even the Pillsbury was. I looked on their website, and apparently they do make one product without lard, but many stores don't carry it. Alas!

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    Replies
    1. Oh no! That's sad. Now I'd better check mine, I just assumed all Pillsbury pie crust was made with shortening... :/

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  2. May I just add, NOM NOM!! They were very tasty! (perhaps it was because of the lard....hah) I even used rice cheese on mine, and I wasn't offended! (I LOVE CHEESE!!!!!!!!)

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