Meat and Bean Empanadas

For the next few days I'll be posting some awesome food that I made for the Super Bowl today! I hosted my family and Joe's parents and cooked a lot of food. I also learned today that I would not enjoy being a chef or a caterer....my back and feet are KILLING me! I had to book a massage for tomorrow. It's that bad. And if you are in need of a wicked cool massage therapist, call this chica. And when you do, tell her that she has the coolest sister on the planet.

Anyways, these empanadas are a variation from the ones I posted here. I was quite proud of myself because I made this up all by myself....no recipe to follow! That's kinda rare for me. These were the most popular items of the night.

MEAT AND BEAN EMPANADAS

• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 packet of taco seasoning
• 1/2 can fat-free refried beans (or full-fat beans, whatever you want)
• 1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes
• 1 cup Colby Jack cheese
  
• 1 package of refrigerated pie crust (2 in a pack)

Heat the oven to 425 degrees and grease a baking sheet.

In a skillet, brown the beef with the onions, garlic and taco seasoning. Add the beans and tomatoes and mix all together.

With the pie crusts, using a 3-inch biscuit cutter (or the ring from the bottle of peaches that I just finished off in my case) and cut 7 circles out of each crust. With the extra crust you can get at least 2 more circles - you want to make 16 empanadas.

On one half of each circle add a teaspoon of cheese and about 2 teaspoons of meat. Fold the circle over to make a half moon shape and use a fork to crimp the edges.

Lay the empanadas on the baking sheet and bake for 18 minutes. Serve them either by themselves or with sour cream, salsa and/or guacamole to dip them into. YUM!!