Empanadas Saltenas

This is a recipe Aaron got in Argentina. There are tons of different ways to make these. We tend to use this recipe with either ground beef or chicken. I included a link for the pastry. In TX there was a little Argentine shop/cafe that sold the pre-made pastries. We haven't found one here. It took a VERY long time to make the dough, roll it our, cut it and fill and seal them. But they are so worth it!

About 2 lbs grounds beef or chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
2 onions, minced
1-2 red peppers, chopped
1 Tbsp. oregano
2-4 Tbsp. cumin (according to spicy preference)
4 medium boiled potatoes, diced
4-6 hard boiled eggs, diced
1 small (5.75 oz) jar green olives (with or without pimento), diced
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, cook beef or chicken in a little olive oil. Add onions, and peppers (add hot peppers too, if desired). Cook until vegetables are tender. Add oregano and cumin.
Stir in potatoes, eggs, and green olives; heat through.
Place about 2 Tbsp of filling on half of the pastry circle. Dampen the edge of half the circle with moistened fingertip (dip it in a little water). Fold pastry over top of filling and seal well with fingers, pinching it together. You can press a fork around the edge to seal it, but we like to make twists in the pastry all the way around. I should have taken a picture.
Place on ungreased baking sheet. Repeat for remaining dough and filling. Brush tops with slightly beaten egg whites. Bake at 350 F for about 25-30 minutes. They will brown slightly.

For the pastry shell recipe go here.

This recipe made about 4 1/2 dozen empanadas, so feel free to reduce it, and use a different pastry dough - since it only takes one egg. Someone will have to eat the remaining green olives (or omit them if you don't like them.) Some people add peas, but Aaron doesn't like peas in his.

Basic Crepes

For Valentine's Day I made these (yes I realize that was over a week ago). We all enjoyed them. This recipe came from my Wymount ward, but I can't remember who gave it to me. This batter can be used immediately or let batter stand 1-2 hours - that will produce slightly more tender crepe. Refrigerate batter for up to 3 days.

1 c. flour
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

Place ingredients in blender container in order given. Blend 30 seconds. Stop and scrape down sides. Blend 30-60 seconds until smooth. Or mix in bowl with wire whisk, or mixer. First combing flour and eggs, adding liquid gradually. Beat until smooth. Add other ingredients. makes 16 crepes. Measure flour and liquid carefully - consistency is important - about like heavy cream.
* My notes. If you have a crepe maker use it. I don't, so I use a small skillet, and cook them one at a time. I try to use a larger skillet, but then they don't cook evenly, or are shaped funny.

corn muffins

This recipe is from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I think I've used it before, but I haven't posted it, and we made it again last week sometime. The Jiffy muffin mixes don't feed our family anymore, and I can't find them for 4 for $1 anymore either. I think my kids just like the honey butter I make to serve with it.

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. cornmeal
2 to 4 Tbsp. sugar (adjust to your preference)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 beaten eggs
1 c. milk
1/4 c. cooking oil or shortening, melted

Grease muffin tins, or line tins with baking cups; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture; set aside.
in another bowl combine eggs, milk, and cooking oil or melted shortening. Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture. Stir until just moistened.
Spoon batter into prepared tins, filling 2/3 full. Bake in 425 F oven for 12-15 minutes or until brown.

Stove-Top Lasagna

I made this last night. It's from my Betty Crocker cookbook. As usual I didn't have the exact ingredients, so I substituted and improvised. I only had half of a red pepper (no green), and only about 4 oz of mushrooms. I didn't have tomato pasta sauce, so I used a can (14.5 oz) of Italian Style tomatoes and 8 oz of tomato sauce. I also didn't have Italian seasoning, so I added some Rosemary and marjoram. After tasting it I added basil, oregano, parsley, black pepper, and garlic powder. And I only had mozzarella for the cheese. Is that enough changes for ya?

1 lb bulk Italian sausage
1 green pepper, sliced (oops I chopped mine)
1 pkg (8 oz) mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 c.)
3 cups uncooked mafalda (mini-lasagna noodle) pasta (6 oz) - I actually had this because I found it at Grocery Outlet really cheap - the sausage came from there too!
2 1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 jar (26-30 oz) chunky tomato pasta sauce (any variety)
1 c. 4-blend Italian or shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz) -

Cook sausage, pepper, mushrooms and onion in a 12-inch skillet or 4-qt dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in remaining ingredients, except cheese. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle with cheese (I just sprinkled a little on each serving).

oatmeal pancakes

I made these for breakfast the other day (OK about 2 weeks ago), and the kids loved them! I don't have buttermilk, so I used soured milk (add 1/2 tsp to the milk and let it sit for a couple minutes)
The strawberry syrup was delicious. No extra butter needed! From my Betty Crocker Cookbook.

1/2 c. quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. fat-free milk
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg

Make strawberry topping and keep warm. Beat remaning ingredients with hand beater or wire whisk, just until smooth (for thinner pancakes, stir in additional 2-4 Tbsp milk.)
Spray griddle or 10-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat griddle to 375 or heat skillet over medium heat. For each pancake, pour slightly less than 1/4 c. batter from cup or pitcher onto hot griddle. (Do I really need to tell you how to make pancakes?)
Cook pancakes until puffed and dry around edges. turn cook other sides until golden brown. Serve with topping.


Strawberry Topping
1 jar (12 oz) strawberry preserves
1 c. quartered fresh or frozen strawberries
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
( I halved this recipe and it lasted one meal - yikes!)
Heat all ingredients over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted and mixture is hot.

Salsa-Rice Burritos

This was quick and easy, even without instant rice. It came from my Betty Crocker cook book. I used a 14 oz can of corn drained, and chopped up some red and yellow peppers (about 1/4 c). I don't think I used that much cheese. I had a half of an avocado and that went very nicely on top. I thought it would be too spicy for the kids, but it wasn't.

1 1/2 cups salsa, plus additional if desired
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 c uncooked instant rice
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (11 oz) whole kernal corn with red and green peppers, undrained
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (6 oz)
8 flour tortillas (8 inches in diameter)

Heat 1 1/2 cups salsa and the chili powder to boiling in 10 inch skillet. Stir in rice; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. * see note if you don't have instant rice* Stir in beans, corn and cheese.
Spoon about 1/2 c rice mixture onto center of each tortilla. fold up bottom of each tortilla; fold over sides. Secure with toothpick if necessary, Serve with additional salsa.

*I used regular rice so I added 1/2 c of water to the salsa and cooked it for 20 minutes.

One Dish Vegetarian Dinner

I made this because I opened a can of olives and then discovered I already has some in the fridge. So olives had to be a major ingredient. This needed a lot of extras. I added a little bit of cayenne pepper, lemon pepper, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese. I tried leftovers with feta cheese - yum! I used about 1/2 cup of olive oil, and after I cooked the pasta, I tossed it with the garlic infused oil in the pan for a few minutes. It was really quick and easy. Also, I only had 8 oz of penne pasta, so I used some shell pasta too. Sorry no picture.

One Dish Vegetarian Dinner

• 1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large head fresh broccoli, blanched
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives

1. Cook pasta in large pot with boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well.
2. In a medium skillet over medium heat cook garlic in olive oil, being careful not to allow garlic to burn.
3. In a large bowl add the cooked broccoli, cooked and drained pasta, and black olives.
4. To serve, pour garlic oil over pasta and vegetables. Serve warm.