Cooking 101 - Hand Pie for Dinner

Okay, so to sidetrack for a sec - I know I've been A.W.O.L. lately but who can blame me?! We've had gorgeous weather and all I've wanted to do is go outside......and play TRACK BALL. Kadie and I are going to start up a "Hot-Moms-Track-Ball-League" and so far there's only two - it's just us - um, so we're looking for more.

Anyway...back to dinner. Gimme a hand...a hand pie. {haha!} You know, sometimes I don't know how I come up with this stuff.... These are also called Empanadas by our Latin friends, but I call them hand pies because people hear me say "Empanada" and go, "what?", so - it's pretty much a language barrier thing.

{Anyway...} So these are FAST, easy, and everybody loves them - even the little picky eaters. If you've got leftovers of anything, make a filling with it and bake it in a hand pie. You just can't go wrong with melted cheese and sour cream, ladies. Got some leftover turkey dinner? Throw it all in a hand pie! Stroganoff? Tuna Noodle Casserole? You got it...hand pie. (um...I hope by now that you know I'm totally kidding about the tuna noodle stuff - that's just gross.)

Now I'm mostly doing this for my sake because you know how you'll make something really yummy and and then go, "how did I make that???" later? So here's my filling that I used the other night, as well as a recipe for a Mexian style filling, because I'm going to have to come back to this site again when I can't remember what I did last time. OH - and you can freeze these and whip out a quick dinner when you're not in the mood to feed people.

DOUGH:
4 1/2 c. Bisquick baking mix
1 c. boiling water

Stir with a fork to incorporate, then use hands for the rest and knead the dough for a few minutes. Roll into 8-10 balls, cover and set aside.

Abby's Random Chicken Filling:

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
2-3 Tbsp. chopped onion
2-3 Tbsp. chopped green chili
1/4 c. - 1/2 c. Salsa
1 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. Red curry powder (I know, weird, but it was SO good)
3 c. chopped, grilled chicken
Mexican rice - 1 box of Mexican rice and only use about half of it. (I only added this because I had some left over from a previous dinner - and it made the filling taste great)
Shredded Cheese

In a large skillet or pot, heat the olive oil and toss in the garlic, onion, green chili, salsa, and cumin. Brown until onion and garlic are soft. Add everything else and saute for a few minutes until everything is heated through and well incorporated.

TO MAKE THE PIES:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees; spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

Roll out a little dough ball until it is about 6-8 inches round. You don't want your dough to be too thin so try to keep it just a little thicker than a pie crust.

Spoon about 1/4 c. of the mixture onto half of your dough, add some shredded cheese on top, fold over dough and pinch edges closed while pushing the edges towards the middle to create some thickness. Crimp the dough shut with a fork, poke a few slits in the top for vent, and transfer to the cookie sheet. Repeat until dough and/or mixture is gone. Freeze any leftover filling to use later.

Bake hand pies for about 10-12 minutes or until they're golden brown. Serve warm with your fave garnishes like shredded lettuce, tomatoes, guac, sour cream, salsa, etc.


Abby's Random Mexican Filling:

Looking at my recipe, it became obvious to me that I don't measure anything, so just add reasonable amounts of whatever is listed. When in doubt just use about 1/2 tsp each.

2 lbs. Ground beef or ground turkey
1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, finely diced
Chili powder
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Nutmeg (just a dash)
Cilantro - chopped fresh or 1/2 t. dried
1 Tbsp. Tomato paste
2 small cans chopped green chilies
Diced tomatoes (optional)

Brown ground beef, drain; add seasonings and simmer about 5-10 minutes until cooked through.