Fried Empanadas

Hi everyone! Today´s recipe is another very popular Mexican dish, it's really easy to make, and if you are expecting to save a lot of money and use any leftovers you might have in the refrigerator, this recipe is the perfect one for you.  I hope you like this one as much as I do.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. Maseca (corn flour, it's very popular in the States, you will for sure find it at any Waltmart)


• 1 teaspoon Salt


• 1 tablespoon Baking Powder


• 1 1/2 quarts Water
  Vegetable oil for frying


• Plastic wrap for easy cleaning (optional)

For the Filling: (Use any left overs you have, Refried beans make a great filling, and you can also fill them with Mozarella Cheese.)
Meat and Potato stew for the filling:
Ingredients:

• 1 lb sirloin cut into small pieces


• 2 cups diced potatoes


• 2 cups your favorite salsa..

In a skillet on medium heat, add a splash of oil, cook the meat for about 8 minutes or until it browns a little bit, then add in the potatoes and continue to cook for another 8 minutes or until potatoes soften a little bit. Add a in the salsa, taste the flavor, add salt and pepper if needed. Bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are completely cooked. Let it cool completely before using it as the filling.

To make the Empandas:

In a large bowl, combine the Corn Flour with a teaspoon of salt, and a tablespoon of baking powder, mix well and add in some of the water,  you will need about 1 1/2 quarts of water but start by adding a little bit at a time, mix well and continue to add more water as needed.  Mix well until the flour and water are well incorporated into a soft dough, you want to get a nice and soft texture,  not too wet or too dry and not sticky at all.

Once you get the right texture. You can start making your empandas. You can make them  any size you want.

Grab some of the  dough, roll it into a ball with your hands, and  place it in between 2 layers of plastic wrap, then press the ball down with a tortilla presser, if you don't have a tortilla presser, you can use a plate or a skillet to press down the dough into a circle. You want the circle to be a 1/4 inch thick. If it is too thick it will absorb to much oil and it wont cooked completely and if it is too thin it will tear apart once you add the filling.

Once you have the empanada circle, now add some of the filling right in the middle of the circle, fold the circle in have like a taco, fold the the edges upward a little bit to prevent the filling from coming out of the empanada, then press down the edges with a fork once again to seal it completely.  Keep on making the empandas until you are done.

Preheat plenty of vegetable oil to a temperature of  300°F.
Fry the empandas for about 3-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and completely cooked. To prevent the empandas from browning too much, you can flip them around for a total of 3-4 times.

Drain them on paper towels, then serve

I served mine with a very simple salad of shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, onion and avocado. Enjoy!!

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