My first post in 2012! Can you believe it, already?! Did everyone have a fabulous New Years Eve? The three of us stayed home and kept warm, I am still trying to recover from the nasty cold that has been going around. Ugh. Did you have a delicious New Years Eve meal? We had some tasty appetizers and Penelope and dad made cupcakes for dessert.

Spanakopita, Arancini,and Empanadas. The Spanakopita and Arancini were from frozen, boo for me, but the Empanadas are semi homemade. They were yummy!

Empanadas

Filling-
1lb Ground Beef
1 Large potato chopped into small cubes (about half the size of a die)
1/2 can of Rotel (you can chop up some tomatoes, green chili's, and onion instead)
Sliced black olives
Salt & Pepper
Cumin
Garlic salt
Onion powder
Shredded Colby jack cheese
Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust

Cook the ground beef and potatoes with the seasonings. Once the beef is cooked through and the potatoes are soft to the touch add the Rotel and black olives. Set filling aside. Roll out the pie crust with a rolling pin and then using a circle cookie cutter cut out rounds. I used a small round cookie cutter about the size of an English muffin so they didn't hold much filling. You can make them bigger if you like.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven at 400 degrees. Fill the center of each dough round and then fold over to seal. It helps to use a little water to get the dough to stick together and then use a fork to crimp the edges of the dough that you brought together. Before you pop these in the oven brush the top side with a light egg wash for a nice golden crust. Bake for about 15 minutes. These are good served with guacamole and sour cream for dipping.