Baked Beef Empanadas

I often make recipes that will yield more than we will be able to eat at a meal for the express purpose of freezing for later use. This is especially true of anything that comes out of the crockpot, like my Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos. This beef turned out so flavorful and tender that I was excited when I thought of a new way to enjoy it: Empanadas!

Now, when I told Jim I was making meat pies, we were both reminded of a stuffed pizza SNAFU from about 2 years ago that was not only inedible, but also slightly lethal, but let’s focus on why we’re here, empanadas.

These were a great way to use some of the leftover shredded beef I had stashed in the freezer for tacos, and worked great as an appetizer to our Cinco de Mayo fiesta. I can definitely see taking these to a party, as they could be baked ahead of time, and warmed for about 5 minutes once you arrived. I adapted the recipe below from a post on Sing for Your Supper.

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Shredded Beef
  
• 8 oz. Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
  
• ¼ cup Red Onion, finely chopped
  
• 2 Serrano peppers, seeded and finely chopped
  
• 2 Tbsp Cilantro, finely chopped
  
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  
• ½ teaspoon pepper
  
• 1 15 oz. package refrigerated pie crusts
  
• Water
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
2. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
   
3. In a large bowl, combine the beef, cheese, onion, peppers, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
   
4. Unroll 1 piecrust onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 15-inch circle. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining piecrusts, you should be able to yield about 2 dozen total.
   
5. Arrange rounds on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of beef mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and beef mixture. Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month.
   
6. Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve with guacamole, salsa, and/or cilantro lime cream.