Hey guys! Happy Sunday! On my meal plan this week I had empanadas. I had wanted to make the dough, but remembered that my trusty food processor had bit the dust. Luckily, I had some back up puff pastry in the freezer, so I rolled with it. This was pretty yummy; sweet and a bit spicy. I made half spicy and half non-spicy. The hubby had the spicy and the girls and I had non-spicy, but I added some hot sauce and jalapenos to my sour cream, so mine had a nice kick to it. I think next time I will do beef or chicken with a different seasoning. Hopefully by then I will have a new food processor and can make homemade dough.
Sweet Braised Empanadas – I got this recipe from http://www.dinneralovestory.com/coke-braised-carnitas/ and tweaked it a bit. Was meant for carnitas, but I thought it would still be amazing in an empanada. I was right. =)
3 pounds pork loin
2 tablespoons peanut oil (olive oil is fine if you don’t have peanut)
2 cans coke (or enough to go half-way up the pork)
1 tablespoon hot sauce or Sriracha
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 container of beef broth
Preheat oven to 325°F. Over medium-high heat, brown pork in peanut oil in a Dutch Oven on all sides. (Don’t skimp on this part. You want a nice brown crust.) Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover and place the pot in the oven with lid slightly askew. Turn every 30 minutes or so, and remove after about three hours. Remove pork from liquid and shred on a cutting board using two forks. Place pork in a bowl or platter as you go. Toss with a little bit of the braising liquid — just a little, it’s very sweet.
Defrost some puff pastry. Cut in squares. Add a spoonful of pork and shredded Mexican cheese. I made half of them spicy- I added a couple of shakes of hot sauce and some diced jalapenos. For the non-spicy, I just added the pork and cheese. I brushed all with an egg wash and poked them with a fork.
Becca really loved the puff pastry, so I told her I would make her apple turnovers soon. Be on the lookout =)
Fun Foodie Family 