Empanadas with Ground Chicken and Olives

As mentioned in my previous post I was planning on a home cooked meal my son and I could both enjoy. My son helped with picking the recipe. When he showed me the picture of the Empanadas I quickly began realizing this was going to be a difficult recipe to make. Of course I was the one who gave him the book to pick out the recipe. I'm thinking he picked it because it looked like perogies and he could eat with his fingers.

I wish I could say this is an easy recipe to make, but it is not. The recipe actually calls for making your own dough for the empanadas. My planning was to pick up a ready made pie crust when grocery shopping, but when at the supermarket I forgot to pick one up. So I decided to make it from scratch.

When making the dough, I found it to be a little dry and difficult to roll. I ended up being lazy and making only half of what the recipe called for. I did tweak the filling. The original recipe called for ground beef I used ground chicken. Since I was making it for my son, I cut back on the spices. I also had some problems folding the dough over the filling. I think this was because the dough was too dry. But overall I can say I was successful. My son tried it and enjoyed it with some sour cream. Again I think he found it appealing because it was finger food.

However, if I decide to make it again, I will be using ready made pie crust.

Ground Chicken-Olive Empanadas:

8oz. Ground Turkey
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp. bottled minces garlic
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 cayenne pepper
1/4 chopped pimiento stuffed green olives
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. golden raisins
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup of milk
1 egg slightly beaten
1 egg
1 Tbsp water

1. Filling:
In large skillet, cook ground chicken, onion, and garlic until meat is brown. Drain off fat. Stir in cumin and pepper. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in olives, tomato sauce, and raisins.

2. Pastry:
In medium size bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles cornmeal. Stir in milk and beaten egg. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface; knead for 10 to 12 strokes. Divide dough in half.

3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Roll one portion of the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 3 - inch rounds; re roll scraps to make additional rounds. Place 1 rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of each round. Moisten edge with water; fold in half and seal edges with a fork. Prick dough several times. Place on ungreased baking sheet.

4. In small bowl, combine 1 egg and water; brush of empanadas. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.