Easy empanada recipe

If you haven't got time to mess around with all the various ingredients needed to make more traditional empanadas, here's an easy version you can make quickly. While purists may through their hands up in outrage, they are actually quite good. This recipe makes about twelve.

For the pastry:
At most Latin food stores you can find frozen empanada dough discs, usually called tapas de empanada, which are more expensive but also more convenient. But here's an idea if you don't want to make a special trip just to buy them: store bought biscuit dough. Y'know, that comes in a can. I know: I'm going to empanada hell.

You'll need:

•     2x16 oz cans large refrigerated biscuit dough

Method:
1.    Flour up a work surface and rolling pin and roll the biscuits out to about double their size.

For the filling:
You'll need:

•     1 lb ground beef
•     1 clove garlic, minced
•     1 teaspoon salt
•     1x15 oz can corn, drained
•     1/2 cup onion, chopped
•     8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
•     1 cup salsa

Of course, you can buy ready chopped onion, minced garlic and grated cheese nowadays to lessen your prep time even more.

Method:
1.    Brown the beef in a skillet adding the salt and pepper just before done.
2.    Let the beef cool.
3.    In a large bowl mix the onions, corn, cheese, and salsa, then add the beef and mix together.

To make the empanadas:
1.    Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.    Spoon 1/3 cup of the filling into the middle of each pastry disc.
3.    Fold the dough in half over the top of the filling, forming a pocket. Squeeze as much air out as possible. Try not to tear the dough and make sure you get a good seal.
4.    Grease a baking tray and arrange the sealed empanadas.
5.    Bake until lightly browned.
6.    Don't tell anyone you cheated.