Viva la Comida

Today is a an extra spicy and delicious day...

Cinco de Mayo!

I love that Derrick loves Mexican food, spicy Mexican food.

If he didn't, we may have a hard time in this relationship.

I made some empanadas:) My dad served a mission in Argentina and now he always takes us to this little whole in the wall called Regina's in Orange County. Their empanadas are bombdiggity. Es verdad. And I have to say, these empanadas that I made came

pretty darn close to how much we love Regina's.

While I made the empanadas, Derrick (who had to morning off:) made arepas for dessert! I dont know if arepas are Mexican, but I do know they make them in Colombia.

My brother makes them for us sometimes and they are delectable. Derrick loves them and so he was more than willing to add to our little fiesta. While the empanadas and arepas were baking, we whipped up some salsa fresca and freshly squeezed lemonade.

Spicy chicken and veggie empanadas

Arepas for dessert. Thanks for the recipe David!

Spicy Chicken and Veggie Empanadas RECIPE

Okay so its sooo easy. Its my own recipe because the others were too time consuming and called for things i didnt have.

This made 8 empanadas. Feel free to change it up according to your taste buds!

-Pie crusts (the roll out kind not frozen)

-2 chicken breast

-1 yellow onion

-1 can of corn

-1 green bell pepper

-2 serrano peppers

-1 cup grated cheese

-1 can of red enchilada sauce

-olive oil

-1 egg

-salt and pepper

[preheat oven to 375]

1. cut up half of the onion (the other half will be used for the filling) and place in a saucepan with chicken breasts. Cover with water and boil for about 20 mins.

2. in another pan drizzle olive oil and chop up the other half of the onion and fry til translucent. Add corn. While they are both cooking, cut up the peppers in tiny pieces and add to corn and onions. This will be going for a while, you can add some olive oil and 1/4 of the enchilada sauce to keep some liquid in, we want this to stew for a bit. Add salt and lotsa pepper.. to taste.

3. In the box of pie crusts, there are using two rolls, I just rolled them together into one big ball, then flattened it out onto wax paper with a rolling pin. Then you want to cut out 5 inch in diameter circles. I had a cookie cutter but if you dont, you can get creative with something about that size in your house (ie: you can trace a cd with a knife... does that make sense?haha) Anyway you should get about 8 circles aka empanada shells.

4. Remove chicken from saucepan and shred. Then add to a pan with olive oil and fry for a little bit. Add the rest of the enchilada sauce to the frying chicken pieces.

5. Combine veggies and chicken in a mixing bowl. Add shredded cheese and mix well.

6. Spoon a good amount into each empanada shell but make sure its not too much where you cant fold it over. You'll need to wet your finger and run it around the edges to seal in closed, you dont want it to open while its baking. The press the edges with a fork.

7.In a separate bowl beat the one egg with a fork.

8. Place uncooked empanadas over a foiled cookie sheet. I Before placing in the oven, brush the top of each empanada with the egg.

9. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. ENJOY:)