Argentinian Beef Empanadas

Like all dumplings these are a labor of love! This took a while but the end product?! Flaky, light, and delish!!! I will be making these again. They freeze/reheat well too! I used the tomato sauce can with both ends cut off as my cookie cutter.

Argentinian Beef Empanadas

Adapted from: Turntable Kitchen
Makes approximately 16 5 inch empanadas

For the dough:
4 1/2 cups of flour
3 teaspoons of salt
2 stick of cold unsalted butter, diced
2 large egg
2/3 cup of ice water
2 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar

For the filling:
1 pound of lean ground beef
2 tablespoon of smoked paprika
2 tablespoon of ground cumin
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 large onion, finely chopped (or 6 tbsp dried onion minced)
4 tablespoon of capers
olive oil
2 hard-boiled egg, roughly chopped
1 cup of chopped, canned tomatoes (1 6oz can tomato paste)
salt and pepper, to taste

1 egg, gently beaten with a fork (for the egg wash)

1. Combine Butter, Salt, and Flour in the food processor until reaching a sandy texture.
2. In a separate small bowl, beat the egg, water and vinegar together with a fork. Pulse into the dry mix until just combined.
3. Place it on a lightly floured surface and use a light hand to knead it gently a few times before forming it into a flattened ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
4. To make the filling, heat approximately olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until it begins to soften. Add the pepper and continue cooking. Next, add the diced tomatoes with their juices and let cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the beef, use the spoon to crush it up in the frying pan. Stir in the spices and capers. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the beef has browned. Stir, occasionally, so that the meat cooks evenly. Stir in the hard boiled egg and let it cool.
6. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out roughly 4 inch round circles in the dough then use your fingers to spread it to about a 5 or 6 inch circle. Place 3 heaping tablespoons of filling in the center and fold the circle into a half moon. Pinch and fold the edges to seal them and place onto a prepared baking sheet. Continue to do this with the remaining dough and filling.
7. Once you’ve formed all of your empanadas, brush them with the egg wash. Bake the empanadas for approximately 25 minutes (until golden brown). You can freeze formed empanadas in a freezer bag and also refrigerate uneaten empanadas.

Simple Chili Seasoning

Keep this chili seasoning on hand to add some kick to a regular meal or to whip up a warm chili dinner! I triple the recipe below and store with my regular spices.

Check out some of my other Chili Recipes!

• Hearty Slow Cooker Chili
• Spicy Chipotle Chicken Chili
• Turkey Chili
• Cheesecake Factory Knockoff White Chicken Chili

Simple Chili Seasoning
1 heaping tsp of chili powder, red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp black pepper

Combine above spices in a container with a top and then store in a cool dry place.

Use: Approx 1 tbsp per 1.5 pound of meat. Use more if you prefer it to be spicier. 

Rotisserie Chicken Dry Rub

Instead of eating deli meat for lunch we have been making rotisserie chicken! I triple the spice amounts below and store the rub so it is on hand.

If you chill in the fridge it will create nicer slices.

Rotisserie Chicken Dry Rub
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt

Combine above spices in a container with a top and then store in a cool dry place.

Use: Coat chicken until covered, approx 1 - 2 tablespoons for each chicken breast. Drizzle olive oil  on the top and rub onto the chicken. Bake at 400F for 25-45 minutes.

BBQ Ribs

Ribs were on sale at the market so I figured - Why not?! For $15 bucks we had a great meal for two and we know it would have been a lot more if we had them at a restaurant!

The only tricky part was removing the membrane. If this is your first time making these I recommend watching some YouTube videos. I did marinate the ribs overnight in the fridge.

These were amazing! The meat fell so cleanly off the bones and the rub was a perfect mix of sweet and spicy.

BBQ Ribs

Adapted from Chowhound
Makes: 4 to 6 servings

3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 full racks ribs (about 5 to 6 pounds)
Favorite BBQ Sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays)

• Place all of the ingredients except the ribs and BBQ sauce in a medium bowl and stir to combine; set aside.
• Pat the ribs dry with paper towels. Remove the thin membrane attached to the underside of the ribs by doing the following: Flip the ribs over so they’re bone-side up.
• Starting at the end of 1 rack, slide the tip of a paring knife between the membrane and the bone, then lift and cut through the membrane. Grasping the membrane with a paper towel, pull it toward the other end of the rack and completely remove it. Repeat with the second rack.
• Place each rack on tin foil.
• Evenly coat both sides of the ribs with the spice rub. Pull the foil up and over each set of ribs to create 2 completely enclosed packets.
• Place the packets side by side on a rimmed baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet tightly with the remaining 2 pieces of foil. (At this point, you can roast the ribs immediately, but for the best flavor and texture, refrigerate them for up to 24 hours.)
• Heat the oven to 325°F and arrange a rack in the middle. (If you rubbed the ribs in advance, remove them from the refrigerator and set aside at room temperature while the oven is heating, at least 20 minutes.)
• Place the ribs in the oven and roast until fork-tender, about 2 hours. Remove ribs from tin foil and place under the broiler until the sauce caramelizes about 5 minutes. 

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia

Continuing on the fish meal experiments. This recipe is from Martha Stewart.

It was tasty but very heavy and made a bit more of a mess than I wanted to deal with. I also think it would be better if I had made some veggies to go with it. I forgot to separate the thick part from the thin part of the fish so the edges were a bit overcooked so that the middle part would be cooked.

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia
serves 4

1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons paprika
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 (6 to 8 ounces each) skinless tilapia fillets
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup prepared tomato salsa

In a shallow dish, combine cornmeal and paprika; season generously with salt and pepper. 

Separate fillets into thick and thin sides. 

Dredge each piece in cornmeal mixture, patting it on to coat completely.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. 

Cook as many pieces as will fit (without crowding) until golden brown and firm, about 2 minutes per side for thin pieces and 4 minutes per side for thick ones. 

Transfer to a plate; sprinkle with salt, if desired, and cover loosely to keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil and fish. Serve with salsa.

Homemade Shake n' Bake Chicken

Need a dinner idea? This ended up being a crowd pleaser and I will make this again. I was going to purchase store brand Shake n' Bake or Oven Fry but both use High Fructose Corn Syrup. Since it was mostly breading I figured I would try and make it at home and I would also save some money!

I decided to use this recipe from The Black Peppercorn. I did make a few changes based on what was available in our house. I omitted the onion flakes, reduced the sugar to 1 tsp and reduced the black pepper to 1/2 tsp. Instead of a mix of parsley, basil, and oregano I used 2 tsp of Italian seasoning. I did use the 1/2 tsp cayenne but I would use 1/4 tsp or omit next time. It was ok, but the kids commented that there was a bit of spice (not that it stopped them from eating it).

Instead of shaking the chicken in a plastic bag I used a glass pie plate and dipped the chicken.

I used almost all of the seasoning on 6 flattened chicken breast so I estimate that the full amount of seasoning made below would coat 8 chicken breasts.

I served this with mashed potatoes and Oven Roasted Broccoli. I cooked the broccoli for about 15 minutes while the chicken was baking.

Homemade Shake n Bake Seasoning 
3 cups Panko bread crumbs
¼ cup vegetable oil
just under 1 tbsp salt
3 tsp paprika
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until evenly mixed and the bread crumbs are no longer 'clumpy' from the oil. Pour jar or plastic container and store in the freezer for 1-2 months.

Shake n Bake Chicken

• Preheat oven to 400F. 
• Pound chicken breast to about ¼- ½ inch thick. 
• Rinse chicken in cold running water. Let excess water drain off.
• Place chicken, one piece at a time, in the bag with a couple cups of the shake n bake.
• Seal and shake the bag so that the chicken is totally coated in the breading.
• Remove the chicken from the bag, shaking off excess breading.
• Place on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil or on a silpat mat
• Bake boneless chicken for 20-25 minutes.

Note: 3 cups makes a lot. If you are making 4 large chicken breast I would suggest halving the recipe or even using 1/3.

Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries

Chicken on the left, Zucchini on the right

Here was some tender and savory baked zucchini fries. The recipe comes from The Lean Green Bean and Chocolate Covered Katie.

I used the same process and dredge for chicken strips too. I did the chicken after the zucchini to prevent any contamination of the ingredients too.

Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries

2-3 small zucchini, sliced into fry shapes

¼ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp paprika

1 egg

1 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450F.

In one bowl combine flour, salt, garlic powder, and paprika. In another bowl scramble an egg in a separate bowl. In a third bowl pour breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.

Dip each zucchini stick in the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs.
Place on a cooling rack or silpat mat on a cookie sheet. Bake 18-19 minutes. Check at 10 minutes to see if you need to flip them.

Double Crunch Honey Chicken

Life changing? I think so. I have seen this recipe from Rock Recipes on Pinterest for months and it always catches my eye. So tonight, was the night.

Crispy crunchy fried chicken and wow was it good. The flour mix has a nice Asian kick to it. If you don't like heat use less of the paprika and cayanne pepper.

I used 4 pieces of thigh meat because I think it is tastier than chicken breast. I omitted the sage because it was expensive. I eye balled the quantities of ingredients for the Honey Garlic Sauce. Served it with brown rice and stir fried broccoli.

I would like to try the double flour dipping method for making eggplant. Maybe use oregano and Italian seasoning and serve with pasta or something to that idea. 

Flatten the meat between two pieces of plastic wrap

Dredge the chicken in the
flour/spice mix

Dip it in egg, then flour mix again.
Then fry it in some hot oil

Let drain on a rack/paper towel.
Do you see how crispy that is??

Top with sauce, serve with broccoli and brown rice

Crunchy Chicken with Honey Garlic Sauce

Serves 2

Chicken:
2 large boneless chicken breasts
 

Place the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and using a meat mallet (or a can or rolling pin); pound the meat to an even 1/2 inch thickness. Or slice the breasts by placing them flat on a cutting board and using a very sharp knife to slice them into halves horizontally.

Breading:
1 cup flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground thyme
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine in a bowl

Egg wash:
1 egg
4 tbsp water

To Assemble and Cook:
Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and then dip the meat in the breading mixture. Dip the breast into the egg wash and then a final time into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the meat to get good contact.

Heat a skillet on the stove with about a quarter inch of oil (I used vegetable) covering the bottom. When oil is hot (I do a test crumb to see if it bubbles) fry them gently for about 4 or 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy. These will cook very quickly since they are so thin.

Drain on a wire rack for a couple of minutes.

While cooking the chicken make the Honey Garlic sauce.

Honey Garlic Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 heaping tsp of garlic powder

1 cup of honey

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tsp ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan combine ingredients and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until warmed and combined.

 

Brown Butter Ravioli, Chicken, Walnuts, & Sage

Mind = Blown.

I found this recipe on Pinterest quite a few weeks ago. Every time I go to the grocery store I think, maybe this is the time! But I find something else to make that week.

However. This week was The Week. Brown Butter Ravioli with Rotisserie Chicken, Toasted Walnuts, and Sage. Very easy to make. You can find the original recipe here.

I have never knowingly used sage before (its in poultry seasoning which is another awesome spice for use in chicken soup!). Nor have I ever made my own rotisserie chicken before. And apparently I have been missing out.

Sage is a soft/fuzzy green leafy herb that is (as herbs are) very fragrant. It has been around for ages and ages and is known for its many health benefits and being able to treat many different ailments. Sage is one of the main ingredients in poultry seasoning too.

Spices

Spice rubbed chicken - raw

I started with defrosting the chicken in a bowl of water bath in my sink. Meanwhile, I mixed the spices together. I didn't have thyme so I omitted it. I also didn't know what a pound of chicken would be and since I was going through all this work, I decided to go with 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (approx 3-4 servings for me). After about 20 minutes I declared them defrosted enough and covered them in the spices. Next time I'll use the full amount, (I had halved it), but it was still very flavorful.

Seared chicken

Next I seared them in a skillet until browned, only a few minutes on each side. If I had a dutch oven (Please mom?) I could have popped it right into the oven. Instead I transferred it to a pie plate and used a glass oven safe cover. I baked it for about 25 minutes at 350F. When I took it out I could see that the center was still raw. I cut it up into bite size pieces and put it back in for another 5 minutes. I'm fairly certain this has to do with me using chicken that isn't entirely thawed out... Regardless, it came out awesome and is incredibly easy.

While the chicken was cooking away, I started toasting the walnuts on medium heat. Easy enough, put some in a frying pan and stir them around a little bit until they become little aromatic morsels. This takes about 5 minutes. Note, I didn't wipe out the pan after I seared the chicken. I took the walnuts out of the pan and chopped them up into smaller pieces.

I started to boil some water in a pot for the raviolis. I used store bought store brand fresh Mini Spinach and Cheese Raviolis. I cooked them according to the directions on the packaging. Any flavor would be good, I was figuring spinach makes it healthier? Aside from the fact that spinach raviolis are delish. Tortellinis would have been tasty too (aka raviolis in a different shape). Basically any type of filled pasta could be substituted in.

As the raviolis were cooking...I melted 2 tbsp of butter in the same frying pan the walnuts had been in. The original recipe uses 4 tbsp of butter, but I'm not a huge butter fan (yes, crazy, I know). This would be good if you want more of a coating on the raviolis, but for me? This was the perfect amount. Since I didn't wait for the pan to cool I moved it to a cold burner to keep the butter from burning. Once the butter was melted I tossed the sage in and stirred it around for about a minute. Then added the walnut pieces and diced chicken.

Because I was cooking for more than one meal I didn't add the raviolis into the pan with the rest of the ingredients. I dislike re-heated pasta so I only cooked what I was going to eat for that meal. If you are going to eat this right away, add the ravioli into the pan.

This made enough for 3 large very filling no appetizer no dessert dinners.

Changes for next time? Maybe cut the chicken and bake it in the oven so it would cook faster. Use more spices in the chicken (the recipe below uses the original measurements, so don't double them...) and more sage. I used less then 1/3 cup which the recipe recommended. I used probably a 1/4 cup or a little less.

If you want to make this meal even faster use store bought rotisserie chicken. But if I had cut the chicken before cooking it, it could have been done in under 20 minutes.

Update: Prepared chicken as instructed but cooked the chicken on the stove. Tasted just as good, cooks a lot faster, whole meal was done in under 30 minutes.

Brown Butter Raviolis, Rotisserie Chicken, Toasted Walnuts, and Sage
Serves approx 2-3

2 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tsp salt and pepper (to taste)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp olive oil
9 oz fresh mini ravioli
(1/2 cup) walnuts
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup fresh sage leaves

Chicken
Preheat oven to 350F. Combine spices and rub onto both sides of the chicken. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a frying pan (or dutch oven). Add the chicken and cook for 2 minutes until brown then do the same for the other side. Put chicken in oven safe pan and cover (or cover dutch oven). and cook for 25-30 minutes. Let cool a few minutes then dice into bite size pieces.

Raviolis
Cook according the to package directions.

Walnuts
Place the walnuts in frying pan on medium heat and toast for ~5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove and chop.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over medium heat. When the butter just starts to turn brown, add the sage and stir constantly for one minute.

Combine ravioli, chicken, and walnuts.

And try to get all of it in one bite in your mouth. Its worth it.

Enjoy!!