Empandas With Avacado Cream Sauce

 

What's not to love about meat filled pastry pockets? And we all know that avocados make everything better.  These little guys didn't last too long at our house. Maybe 20 minutes...Sadly, they took a lot longer to prep. A slow cooker was my BFF for this recipe.  Add a rump roast, veggies, and spices to the crock pot in the morning.  The meat will be ready to shred by the afternoon. The nice thing about this recipe is that there's usually quite a bit of meat left to use for another meal. Empanadas are perfect to take to a party and also make for a great Sunday night dinner at home.  Here's what you'll need to pick up at the store if you want to try them out...

Honestly, these are empanada impostors. Authentic empanadas typically come stuffed with raisins, boiled egg, and sometimes green olives.  Mine are really more like carne asada taco pockets.

I hope I don't offend anyone by using the term loosely, but "empanadas" is such a fun word to say. It just rolls off the tongue easier than "Mexican spiced meat pockets".

PREP:

1. Add the following to your crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours:

    -beef rump roast

    -1 diced yellow onion

    -1 diced jalapeno

    -1 small can of diced green chile peppers

    -1 tbl. cumin, 2 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. ground chipotle

    -juice of one lime

    -1 cup "super" stock (Boil one cup of water and add two beef bouillon cubes. Stir until dissolved)

2. After cooking, the meat should be tender and falling apart. (If not, stir, cover and cook for one more hour.) Remove from the crock pot and shred with two forks.

3. Add 2/3 cup of the juice from the crock pot to shredded meat. At this point, you can store the meat in the fridge and assemble empanadas the next day if you choose.

4. Roll pie crusts together on floured surface. Cut circles anywhere from 4-6 inches in diameter. 

5. Add about 1 tbl. of meat and a sprig of cilantro to one side of the crust.

6. Dip your finger in water and trace the perimeter of the crust. (This helps the dough stick together.)

6. Carefully pull and fold the crust over the meat, pressing the edges together with your fingers.

7. Crimp with a fork to make sure edges are completely sealed.

8. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. I used an egg wash (1 beaten egg + water) to add a golden finish to the crust, but this is just optional.

9. Now for the sauce...

 

PREP:

1. Combine the ingredients shown above until smooth, and creamy, and delicious looking. Pretty technical, huh? 

Added bonus to this post, I have a dramatic before and after for you...

Our poor scruffy girl...Turns out we hadn't taken Brooke Shields in for grooming since September. Yikes! The ladies at the shop looked at me like I was a little crazy when I told them we were letting her go hippie for the winter. Isn't she the most dignified little canine you've ever seen? Ok,  maybe I'm a tad biased.

 

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