Empanadas

I love Mexican food. It is a staple of my diet. And it is definitely one of my comfort foods. This is a recipe I started making several years back when I lived in South Carolina. I found it in a hand-me-down cookbook from my mom. I completely hijacked it and changed it, because I tend to like simpler recipes, and I am very picky on what goes in my food. I'm fairly certain that most anyone of Mexican descent would be horrified at my calling these empanada Mexican food, but it works for my family. They are tasty and reheat very well (can we say lunch?).

1 lb ground beef
1-3 jalapeños, diced
2-4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 packet of taco seasoning
1/4 cup water
1 can refried beans
cumin, cayenne pepper, season all salt

Brown the ground beef, with season all salt added, over medium-high heat and break into small pieces. Just before the ground beef is completely cooked, add the jalapeños and garlic. Add the taco seasoning, and any of the other spices that you'd like depending on how spicy you want it. Add the water and stir occasionally until it cooks down over medium heat. Add a can of refried beans and stir until well mixed. Turn off heat.

Shells
4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
8 Tbsp butter or margarine
8 Tbsp crisco
12-16 Tbsp water

Use a pastry cutter to blend the butter and crisco into the flour and salt until you have a crumbly mixture and you can't see any chunks. You can test it by pinching the mixture between your fingers and if it hold the shape, it's ready. Add the tablespoons of water and with a fork toss dough until it pulls away from the side and all of the dough is incorporated.

Take a small piece of the dough, about the size of a golf ball, and cover in flour. Place in a tortilla press and flatten.

Get a small bowl of water, and gather your pressed dough and mixture close together. Take a circle of dough, dip your finger in water and lightly wet 1/4 of the edge of the dough. Fold dough in half and seal the half that is wet. With a small spoon, scoop mixture into the dough pocket packing it as much as you can while leaving sufficient room to finish sealing the empanadas. Wet your fingertip again and wet one side of the other half of the dough and seal completely. Once they are all filled and sealed, take a fork and poke three holes on each side.

Add oil to your skillet. Cook on both sides until a light golden brown color. I usually have to stand them up for a minute in the oil to ensure that the bottom gets cooked well. As with most of my recipes, this one is not very difficult, it just takes time, but they are so worth it! When my daughter got home today, she walked in and said, "Mmmmm. Empanadas???" That's why I do this. :-)