Spinach Empanadas

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02

Title: SPINACH EMPANADAS
Categories: Pies, Vegetables
Yield: 60 servings

-----------------------------------PASTRY-----------------------------------
16 oz Cream cheese, softened
3/4 c Butter, softened
2 1/2 c Flour
1/2 ts Salt

----------------------------------FILLING----------------------------------
1/4 c Onion, finely chopped
3 Garlic clove; minced
4 sl Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 tb Bacon drippings
10 oz Spinach, frozen; thawed
-and drained
1 c Cottage cheese
1/4 ts Pepper
1/8 ts Nutmeg, ground
1 Egg, beaten

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter till smooth. (Use
a stand mixer, since the mixture is heavy.) Gradually add in the flour and
salt. Lightly knead the dough by hand. Cover with plastic wrap and
refrigerate for 3 hours.

In a medium skillet, cook the onion and garlic in the bacon drippings until
the onion is tender but not brown. Mix in the bacon, spinach, cottage
cheese, pepper, and nutmeg; let the mixture cool.

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to a
thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut 3-inch circles in the pastry, place 1 teaspoon
of the filling in each circle, just to one side of the center. Moisten the
edge of the circle with the egg, fold the dough in half over the filling to
make a semicircular empanada. Seal the edges with fork tines, and poke the
top of each pastry with a fork to make a vent. Put the empanadas on an
ungreased cookie sheet, brush their tops with egg, and bake for 10 to 12
minutes or until golden.

Makes 60 empanadas.

From: tak@bushrat.jpl.nasa.gov (Tom Kreitzberg)
from the rec.food.recipes archives

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