Spiced Beef Empanadas

Before I write another thing, there is something that you need to know about me. 

I am not a chef.  I don't like cooking (there I said it), and am not at all creative in that department, so having to come up with ideas for dinner every day is right up there with going to the dentist for me.  (Unlike my DH, who can look in the fridge and pantry and practically whip up a 3 course meal with whatever scraps he has found.) 

That being said, I am always on the lookout for new, easy, and yummy sounding recipes.  So, today I decided to try these Spiced Beef Empanadas.  First off, let me confess.  I don't have the foggiest idea what an empanada is.  I'm not even sure how it's pronounced.  I mean I know it's some kind of Mexican food.  But that's about it.  But the picture looked appealing, and it was from Real Simple magazine.  Must be simple, right?

Real Simple Spiced Beef Empanadas

And it was.  Relatively.  Honestly, anything that has more than a single step is just a huge effort as far as I'm concerned.  But I thought I would try it. 

And it wasn't too bad.  I'm usually not one who likes to mix sweet and savory (ketchup and raisins......really?), but I am game for trying almost anything at least once.  My kitchen smelled divine! 

Now came the hard part.  I'm not a gal who really likes to get her hands dirty.  I mean this was ready-made pie crust so it wasn't that bad.  But the problem was, the recipe didn't really tell me who much filling to put in each circle.  I think I overestimated a few and.....well, look for yourself.

But I got the hang of it after a while.  I didn't crimp them with a fork because that was getting just a tad bit too daring for me.  And my last batch actually came out looking not too bad.

But they taste ....... AMAZING!!!!!  I will let DH sample 1 (or maybe 2) and I will be packing the rest up and taking them to work for an evening snack tomorrow.

Although I love these, I don't know if I would go through the trouble of cutting out and stuffing the pie dough again.  The filling was delicious enough on its own - maybe served with a cornbread of something on the side.  I will definitely making that part again!

And I've got to find a nice dipping sauce for them.  Sour cream with lime zest is.....well.....sour cream.  These deserve way better than that.  So if you have any ideas, feel free to let me know.

(From my board "The Belly Rules the Mind")