Chicken week continues! Today is “what to do with leftover chicken” day. Yesterday I talked about roasting a chicken and chances are you will have some chicken leftover. If not, maybe you have some chicken breasts in the fridge that you need to cook up soon. Either way, leftover chicken is actually a blessing in disguise because there are so many go to meals you can prepare! One of my favorites is chicken empanadas.
Chicken empanadas are easy, fun, and a great party appetizer! They can either be fried or baked, depending on how good or bad you wanna be. ;-) The recipe makes quite a bit of filling so I used half of the filling for the empanadas and then used the rest last night for quesadillas. TWO meals in one! SCORE! Like yesterday, I have listed below other delicious leftover chicken ideas that you might want to try.
| Chicken Empanadas |
Recipe type: appetizer, light meal
Author:
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 can diced green chiles
- 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced, (optional if you like spicy)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 rotisserie chicken, picked and finely chopped or about 4 c. chopped cooked chicken
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 cups grated pepper jack cheese
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Prepared pie dough (2-3 boxes or 6 crusts)
- 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
- Peanut oil, for fryer, if frying
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a medium saute pan, add onions, green chiles, jalapenos, garlic and cumin and saute until onions are translucent.
- In large bowl combine chicken, lime juice and cilantro. Add the onion-chili mixture and mix. Stir in cheese and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Using a 4-inch ring mold, cut circles from prepared pie dough. Put about 1 tablespoon of the chicken mixture in center of dough. Brush egg wash around circumference of the dough. Fold top half over to form a half circle. Seal with the tines of a fork.
- If you would like to fry the empanadas, heat a deep-fryer to 325 degrees F. with peanut oil. Submerge a few empanadas into oil until golden brown, about 2 minutes, flipping once to ensure even cooking. Remove and drain on paper towels.
- If you would like to bake the empanadas, heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the empanadas on a greased cookie sheet and bake 18-20 or until golden.
- Serve empanadas with a dip of your choice- salsa, sour cream, guacamole, queso, ranch dressing, etc.
Recipe Source: Libbie Summers via Paula’s Home Cooking
