Empanadas Receta

Hey there, everyone. Estoy emocionada porque mañana es el dia de amor. The day of love. Meaning, Valentine's Day!!!! Yummy chocolates, cookies, all that good stuff. :) I got some chocolates from my friend during class today. Dark chocolate kisses, my favorite.That was the only good thing about going to a class on a weekend. -_-. What made it worse is that today was such a beautiful day, even though it's winter. It was mild, warm enough to wear a tshirt, and it was sunny. It's rarely like that here during the winter, and I wanted to go and play outside. Oh well. At least I got a little bit of play time after class.
So, I'm posting today, just to let you guys know that my blog is still alive. Also, it's been a week since I last posted a recipe, and I promised to post one recipe each week. So, I've decided on a non dessert recipe. A Spanish recipe. Empanadas. Yummy. Mi mejor amiga, Valentina, me dio esta receta. Well, the recipe to the dough. I decided to make my own filling. The filling she makes has meat in it. I want a vegetarian one, so that's why I made my own filling. Here is the link to the recipe she gave me. I'll repost it here, so that it'll be easier for you guys to see. By the way, I used butter instead of shortening, if you compare the two.

Dough:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup ice water (a little bit more)

Ingredients Needed

1. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. Cut the butter into the flour as though you were making a pie crust by working it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Sprinkle dough with just enough ice water so that it will just hold together. Knead together briefly and allow to rest, covered about 10 minutes.
4. Roll dough out on a lightly floured board to circles about 3-4 inches in diameter.
5. Place a spoonful of empanada filling of your choice on one side of the circle. Moisten the edges of the circle with a small amount of water and fold the dough over the filling to make a half circle. Press the edges together to seal.
6. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Meat Filling:

• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tomatoes, peeled
• 2 cups cooked beef, chopped
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground cumin
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute onions and garlic in hot oil until translucent.
2. Add meat, sauté 5 more minutes. Stir in tomatoes, stock and remaining ingredients.
3. Simmer 30 minutes.

Vegetarian Filling:

• 1 can 15 oz Black Beans
• 1 1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese
• chili powder
• ground oregano
• onion powder ( or 1 onion, chopped)
• 1/2 cup corn (optional)
• garlic salt w/parsley
• diced tomatoes (3 tablespoons, optional. I didn't use it)

1. Open the can of beans and pour it into a bowl. Add the cheese. Mix and mash them together. Add the diced tomatoes to the mixture if desired. 
2. Add a couple dashes of each of the spices stated above and mix. The filling is all set to put into the empanadas.