breakfast

Empanadas are one of my favorite foods. Empanadas are somewhat like colachis or pierogis – but basically dough stuffed with yummy savory ingredients. Usually meat, meat/cheese just cheese, veggie, etc. I have enjoyed empanadas in Spain – and when I traveled to Argentina years ago on a work assignment and empanadas are EVERYWHERE down there. All kinds. They are delivered to you like pizzas are in the US, boxes of them! Delicious stuffed doughy goodness. What I loved about the deliveries in Argentina is each empanada has a different crust pattern to signify what’s inside (like a rolled crust = pork, while a crust w/ fork marks = beef/onion, and so on.).

I live in Kansas City and we have a lot of Mexican restaurants but not really many Spanish or South American places, so good empanadas are hard to find. They are best if you make your own dough, which I’ve done before, but I’m a working mom with a toddler and another baby on the way – so, this mom aint’ got time for that. I use pre-made dough and it works JUST fine.

I also love breakfast tacos so one day I thought, why not make breakfast empanadas! Ta-da! Brilliance was born. I used more Mexican spices in mine b/c I know Mexican food & spices better than Spanish or South American. These are great to feed a crowd, kids love them, they are SO EASY to make, make ahead of time, can pop leftovers into the oven or toaster oven – super yum and convenient. Hope you give this recipe a shot!

*I used bacon in this round, but I’ve used breakfast sausage before. If you want to do this sub 1 cup cooked sausage for the bacon. Or you can toss in veggies vs. meat if you wish. 1 cup should do the trick.

Ingredients:

1 package grands biscuit dough – just buy the regular biscuit dough, nothing fancy
5 eggs
5 strips of bacon – cooked and chopped into small pieces
1 cup shredded cheese – I use cheddar or monterey jack
1 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup diced white onion
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp water
salt
pepper

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees (follow package directions for dough)
Place biscuit dough on flat cold surface, no flour!
Pat down biscuits until flat
Use rolling pin to further flatten dough to about 5 inches across – not too thin
Heat pan over medium heat
Whisk 5 eggs with 2 tbsp water. Add pinch of salt and pepper.
Heat 1 tbsp EVOO in 10 inch sauté pan over med heat
Add onions, garlic, red pepper, oregano, cumin, paprika, chili powder, 1 pinch of salt and 1 pinch of pepper to the pan. Cook until veggies are soft and cooked down – about 5 min.
Add eggs to pan. Turn heat to med/low
Let eggs sit for about 30 seconds. Then start to scrape pan and make scrambled eggs. Continue to scrape cooked eggs off bottom of pan and mix in with uncooked eggs. Continue this for about 2 -3 min. When eggs are firming up but still look wet, meaning they have lots of moisture. Remove from heat.
Add shredded cheese and bacon.
Mix well until cheese is melted
In center of each circle of dough, place about 1/2 cup of egg mixture
Fold the dough over the mixture to make a closed half circle, with the mixture inside
Pat down the edges and then use a fork to seal the edges
Place empanada on greased baking sheet
Repeat until all empanadas are complete
Bake according to dough directions, usually about 13 minutes or so
Check to see if dough is golden brown and firm, but do not overcook!
Remove from oven. Let cool and serve.
I often serve w/ salsa and sour cream, sometimes chopped avocado.