Beef and Cherry Empanadas

Beef and Cherry Empanadas

Servings:*

56 empanadas

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup dried cherries, minced
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
  • 1 pound Lean ground beef
  • 1 cup minced onion
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
  • 3/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
  • 1 package fresh won ton wraps, 16 ounce
  • - zipper closure food storage bags
  • no stick cooking spray
  • - Pineapple Lime Dipping Sauce, recipe below
Won ton wraps replace the traditional roll-out pastry crust in these tasty, freeze-ahead morsels.

Directions

  1. Combine cherries and orange juice. Brown ground beef in skillet with next 5 ingredients, breaking meat into fine pieces; remove from heat. Stir in pine nuts, cherries and orange juice; refrigerate until cold. Lightly brush edge of a wrap with water. Spoon scant 1 tablespoon of meat mixture into center of wrap; fold over to form a triangle. Crimp edges with tines of fork. Repeat with remaining wraps. Freeze empanadas on baking sheet until firm; transfer to freezer food storage bags. Freeze up to 2 months. To Bake: Line baking sheet with aluminum foil;spray with no stick cooking spray. Arrange frozen empanadas on foil; spray with no stick cooking spray. Bake in preheated 400 F oven, turning once, until golden brown (10-12 minutes). Serve with Pineapple Lime Dipping Sauce.

Chef’s tip

Pineapple Lime Dipping Sauce
Combine 2 (12 ounce) jars pineapple preserves, 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons snipped fresh cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel. Refrigerate, covered, several hours.
Amount: 2 1/2 cups
Tips:
To toast pine nuts, spread in shallow baking pan. Bake in preheated 350 F oven, stirring twice, until golden brown (7-8 minutes).

* Recipes created for given quantity. Changes to quantities are for planning purposes only and have not been tested.