Cheeseburger Empanadas

In an earlier blog, I have a wonderful and tasty recipe for fruit-filled empanadas. However, you can fill empanadas with a variety of foods, and this great cheeseburger recipe is just another way to enjoy these scrumptious bites of heaven!

Ingredients:

- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup butter, softened slightly but cool
- 1 cup plus 2 Tbs cottage cheese
- 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
- 1 tsp. Goya Adobo seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1/4 cup pasta/pizza sauce
- Shredded cheese

For the Empanadas: Place flour in a medium bowl or mixer. Cut in butter and mix until the flour is crumbly. Blend in cottage cheese until mixture forms a ball. Chill dough for 1 hour. Roll out dough in flour to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut circles out of the dough (approximately 4 to 4 1/2 inches in diameter.) Place on slightly greased cookie.

While the dough is chilling, brown ground beef and drain grease. Add Adobo seasoning, pepper, onion powder, and pizza sauce and stir. Spoon 1 Tbs of meat mixture onto the center of each empanada and then place 1 Tbs of shredded cheese on top of meat mixture. Fold dough over and seal/crimp using a fork. Bake empanadas at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes (or until they are slightly golden brown). 

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live." 
- Flora Whittemore