Cookish: What's for Dinner?

Turkey Empanadas

I was inspired by Thursday Night Smackdown (Warning: The language on this blog is rated R. But it is funny.) I even used her empanada dough:

For the dough:

3 c. AP flour

1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces (note: I used salted butter and left out the pinch of salt. Next time, I will use salted butter and add a little extra salt. I like salt, ok?)

1 egg

1 tbsp. white vinegar

up to 1/3 c. ice water (I believe that I used about 7 tbs, but I lost my notes, so who knows?)

pinch of salt

Put the flour, butter, egg and salt into the FoodProcessor and pulse until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is pea-sized.

Looky! I actually took pictures for you. Don't make fun of my ancient Cuisinart.

Add the vinegar and 2-3 tablespoons of water, pulse a few more times. Keep adding ice water and pulsing until the dough just starts to pull together - you don’t want so much water that you end up with one big, wet dough ball. Dump the dough out onto your work surface and briefly knead/mush it around until it comes together. Flatten it into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

While refrigerating, you can get to work on the filling.

Ingredients:

1/4 onion

3 garlic cloves

1 carrot

olive oil

salt & pepper

1 lb ground turkey

1 can canellini beans

1 cup tomatillo salsa

cumin

chili powder

cheese (optional)

Dice your onion. Saute in a skillet with a little olive oil

While onion is cooking, dice your carrot and chop or grate your garlic. Add to the onion, along with cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add and brown your ground turkey. When turkey is browned, stir in beans and add 1 cup of salsa.

Pre-heat your over to 425.
When 30 minutes have passed, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick and cut out rounds the size of your choice. I don't actually have a biscuit cutter or anything, so I just traced a small plate with a paring knife. Add a spoonful of stuffing to the center of each round. I also sprinkled some mozarella cheese (because it was what I had) before sealing. It didn't add too much. I think I'd use a stronger cheese next time and maybe stir it into the filling rather than sprinkling on top. Moisten the edges with water and fold the rounds in half. Crimp the edges closed with a fork to seal. I also cut small steam vents in the top.
Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Let rest for a few minutes before biting in so you don't burn your tongue off! Serve with a salad. Sour cream would be good, too.