Haggy Housewife's Spinach Puffs for a crowd ( or hungry teenager): Part Two of filling recipes

So many recipes.. so little time….

To blog

I’m working on it… really I am…

Here is part two of what to do with Danish pastry dough…

I really should call it something else… because so far I haven’t made one Danish with it..

“Waist expanding dough”?

“Sheets of buttery goodness”…

“The perfect dough to wrap everything in”

That last one was too long

I will think of something… later.. or if anyone has any idea’s let me know.

I am gonna eat some crow here…

And admit I am still using some packaged foods..  seasoning packets really… I should go and find some recipes for them… but… it is so easy to just buy them…

Well at least your dough is homemade.. 

Ranch dressing mix… Aldi carries these.. about half the price of the name brand stuff at Krogers.. and not near as salty too…

And I love salt… everything goes better with salt..

And butter…

Cream…

Butter…

Garlic…

Potatoes..

Butter...

( I shouldn’t blog when I am hungry)

Ok.. enough.. back to what I was talking about

I used to mince my garlic.. but washing the mincer was so frustrating I decided to just start slicing…

Onion diced

Plop some cream cheese in a mixing bowl

Dump in your ranch dressing mix

Sauté your onions and garlic and dump those in too

Now your chopped spinach

Mix those up really good.. 5 to 7 minutes

That pastry rolled out and cut, my biscuit cutter is somewhere enjoying it’s vacation… so I used a wide mouth ring… takes a little more elbow grease to use but it is the perfect size…

Plop some filling in the middle of the circle…

Press the seams together… repeat till all filling is used up..

I made 48 spinach puffs, using two of the three sheets of dough I made… laying them on a cookie sheet I shoved them in the freezer for about 30 minutes and then off into a plastic bag and back into the freezer until I needed them for the next day.

Print Recipe

Haggy Housewife Spinach Puffs for a crowd

Two packages of ranch dressing mix.. ( the dry stuff)

Three 8 ounces packages of cream cheese

One large onion, diced

6 garlic cloves, diced, sliced, minced… whatever your poison is

Two packages of frozen chopped spinach ( the small boxes)

Two sheets of pastry dough

One egg white well beaten

Instructions

Thaw out pastry dough and spinach ( squeeze spinach really good after it is thawed.)

Slice and dice up spinach and garlic.. sauté till caramelized

Add all ingredients in mixing bowl and mix till combined

Cut out dough

Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in circle

Press seams together and lay out on ungreased baking sheet

Continue until all dough is used ( I had about ½ tablespoon of filling left over when my dough was finished)

Place in freezer for about 30 minutes.. then remove from pan into a freezer safe container or bag.

Before baking brush puffs with beaten egg white

Bake for 30 minutes @ 375

Haggy Housewifes Pork Empanadas : "Danish" dough filling recipes part one

I’m all about convenience…

Pull out something from the freezer… pop it in the oven and TAADAA!! Dinner is done…

That becomes a challenge when you’ve sworn off processed food.

Dinner or snacks are thought about at least three hours ahead.. Actually… I figure out what I am making for dinner before breakfast… I usually don’t get around to start making it until almost 4 pm… I’m just that lazy..

If I were to take one day and spend it prepping my food for the week… I could have more time to procrastinate on other things.

This is why I like the Danish pastry dough…. You can make it one day… shove it in the freezer.. and when you have time you can assemble some filling… shape and then throw them back in the freezer for later.

These are almost a meal in themselves…

Pork empanadas… well… my version of empanadas…  

This… my favorite seasoning pack… when I make my taco seasoning… this gives it the ommmf you need… over fish.. rice…  and now empanadas.

Start frying that pork

I ran out of onions and garlic, so I used several tablespoons of dried onions

Goya seasonings…

Cream cheese

Done… try not to sample any… it makes it hard to stop once you get started.

Pastry dough rolled out… and cut

Fill and crimp edges

What happens when you use hot filling… it activates the yeast and you get a misshapen empanada…. Does it matter? I think not… Remember.. I make less than attractive food…

My hands became covered in the sauce… the dough was refusing to stay closed…  resulting in some pathetic looking pockets…

Baked… all good…  you are supposed to brush the outside with egg whites… I am really fresh out of excuses here…

Print Recipe

Haggy Housewife's Pork Empanadas

    Pastry dough (2 sheets), thawed

    1/3 cup chopped onion

    2 cloves garlic, minced

    1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil

    1 packet Goya seasoning with annato (achiote)

    1 pound ground pork

    Salt and pepper to taste

    8 ounces cream cheese

    1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water

Preparation:

    Prepare the filling: Place a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil in a medium skillet and cook the onion and garlic over medium heat until soft and fragrant.

    Add the ground pork, 1 packet of Goya seasoning, and cumin to the pork and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until pork is well browned.

    Remove from heat and stir in the cream cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

    Place one sheet of pastry on floured surface, and sprinkle with flour. Roll it out to about 12 by 18 inches

    Using a sharp round cutter (like a large biscuit cutter), cut about 8 rounds of dough, 3-4 inches in diameter.

    Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in each round. Dip a finger in water and run your finger around the edge of the circle of dough, then fold the dough in half to form a half moon shape over the filling. Seal edges firmly. Fold sealed edge over on itself and crimp to secure the seal.

    Place empanadas on a greased cookie sheet (or line cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper). Mix egg with one tablespoon of water and brush egg wash lightly over the empanadas, then place them in the oven to bake. Bake empanadas until they are puffy and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

    Empanadas can be filled and shaped, and then frozen until ready to bake. Remove from freezer, brush with egg wash, and place straight into the oven to bake.