Empanaditas

So yesterday was National Empanada Day, so it made sense to me to whip some up for dinner. I made cheater empanadas because I'm lazy. Real empanadas, which are just a hand pie, are made with a yucca flour crust or a pie crust type crust; I used won ton wrappers. Here is a link to make some more authentic empanadas.

Empanada Recipe

Here are mine:

INGREDIENTS:
1 pkg won ton wrappers
1 chicken breast
1/2 c salsa (I used verde, but any will do, and the less chunky the better)
1/2 c shredded cheese
2 T olive oil
1/8 t garlic powder
1/8 t onion powder
1/8 t chili powder
1/8 t cumin
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:
Heat 1 T oil in saute pan to medium
Season chicken with all spices and saute until nearly cooked (5 minutes)
While chicken is cooking remove won ton wrappers from package and cut into circles
*I used a large biscuit cutter and cut about 6 at a time
After 5 minutes remove chicken from heat and cut into tiny pieces
Add salsa to saute pan and cook with chicken until chicken is cooked and most liquid is absorbed Remove chicken mixture from heat and allow to cool slightly
Put about ½ t of shredded cheese in the middle of each won ton round
Then about 1 t of chicken mix on top of that
Wet the edges of the won ton wrappers slightly with water and fold over to make half circle pockets
Use a fork to crimp the edges and get a good seal
Brush the tops of the pockets with the remaining olive oil
Place in oven for 7-10 minutes just to let the empanaditas get golden, crispy, and warm

These were super tasty, but definitely a better appetizer than dinner. And, they're obviously just baked won tons that look like emapnadas. But they are so easy. It looks like a lot of directions, but you just fill them and bake them. I think it could make a really cool dessert accoutrement too. Maybe fill them with chocolate or cherries...Yummy, Dude.

Garlic Confit

I was at a party this weekend and the host had a wonderful assortment of dips, spreads, and cheeses. He made a fabulous olive tapenade but, by far, my favorite dish was the garlic confit. I've had roasted garlic before and it's so wonderful and sweet and this is similar but without any carmelization. It's also a good thing to do when you have a lot of leftover garlic or garlic that is beginning to smell. It's a good way to keep garlic on hand because it lasts for about 2 weeks in the fridge and when a recipe calls for it you don't have to peel it, just spoon it out.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Olive oil to cover

Directions:
Heat small saucepan on low
Add peeled garlic(as many cloves as you want)
Add olive oil to cover
Simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes
Test 1 clove to see if it can be pierced with a fork
Don't carmelize

This is great served on crackers or sliced baguette

I save mine in rinsed out spaghetti sauce jars. It really needs to be in glass because I swear you can smell the garlic through plasticware.