Cheesy Beef Empanadas

This is a super easy and delicious recipe for Empanadas.  I make beef ones, which are more traditional, but you can honestly stuff them with anything.  I've made them in a small size for appetizers and a larger size for a meal.  To make empanada's even easier,  I buy pie crusts in the dairy aisle of my grocery store. A margarita goes perfectly with this dish, but because I'm The Vineyard Mom, a Rioja or a Malbec are great wines to enjoy with the empanada's.  Cheers!

Pie Crust:

1 box of pie crust dough.  Most come with 2 round dough crusts in them.

Beef Filling:

1 lb. ground beef.

1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil.

1/2 yellow onion finely diced.

3 garlic cloves finely minced.

1 Tbs. tomato paste.

1 tsp. oregano.

1 tsp. cumin.

1 tsp. paprika.

2 Tbs. diced green chilies from a can.

6 oz. diced tomatoes drained (about half a can).

1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper.

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese.  

1 egg beaten for egg wash.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put olive oil in a saute pan on high heat and sweat onions for 3-5 minutes.  

Add ground beef and garlic and saute until meat is brown.  Drain any excess fat.

Turn heat to medium and add tomato paste, oregano, cumim, paprika, chilies, diced tomatoes and salt and pepper to the meat mixture.  Saute together for 2-3 minutes. Turn heat off and add cheese and let mixture come to room temperature.

Take pie dough out of the box and roll them out to 1/4 inch thickness.  If you don't want to roll it out, don't and just use that thickness.

Take a 4 inch cookie cutter to cut rounds.  I don't have a cookie cutter that is 4 inches, so I use the top of a tupperware lid.

Take 2 -3 tsp. of beef mixture and place in the middle of the dough round.  Lightly moisten the edges of the dough with some water on your finger so it adheres.  Fold dough in half and crimp edges with a fork to seal.

Make all the empanada's and place them on a lined baking sheet. Bush the tops with the egg wash. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with sour cream.