Spicy Black Bean Empanadas

Spicy Black Bean Empanadas (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, Total Time: 1 hour, 18 minutes, Servings: 40)

Ingredients

·         2 (17.3 oz.) packages Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets

·         1 egg

·         1 Tbsp. water

·         ½ lb. (1/2 pkg.) Morningstar Farms MealStarters Burger Crumbles

·         1 small red pepper, diced

·         4 medium green onions, chopped (green and white parts)

·         1 clove garlic, minced

·         ½ cup tomato sauce

·         1 tsp. ground cumin

·         1 tsp. chili powder

·         1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper

·         1 ½ cups shredded Mexican or Taco cheese

·         ½ (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions

1.      Thaw the pastry sheets at room temperature for 40 minutes or until they're easy to handle. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with vegetable cooking spray.

2.      Stir the egg and water with a fork in a small bowl.

3.      Cook the Burger Crumbles in a skillet over medium-high heat until they are heated through. Add the diced red pepper, green onions and garlic. Cook until tender.

4.      Stir the tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and crushed red pepper into the skillet. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cheese and beans. Let cool.

5.      Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll to a 16x12-inch rectangle. Cut into 10 (2 1/2-inch) rounds. Top half of each round with 1 teaspoon mixture. Brush edges of pastry with water. Fold over and press the edges with a fork to seal. Place the empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pastry and mixture. Brush with the egg mixture.

6.      Bake for 18 minutes or until golden.

I found this to be a very time-consuming process.  I only used 1 package of the Puff Pastry because it was taking while to roll them out, cut them, fill them, etc.  In the future, I’ll probably just use the filling to make tacos – less calories (puff pastries are pretty calorific) and more focus on the filling.  I did like them as empanadas, but it was just a little too much dough for my liking – and I overstuffed them!  I didn’t find the filling that spicy, so I will likely add more crushed red pepper in the future, or maybe some cayenne pepper.  I would also reduce the cheese to 1 cup – 1 ½ was too much.  If you have time and patience, I recommend trying the whole recipe.  If not, just make tacos!