Dinner in 20 minutes, flat.

If you are anything like me, I am constantly looking for simple, tasty, but still quick dinner options.  During the week, I typically get home between 7 or 7:30, so I don't always feel like making a supper that takes an hour or more.

In a previous post, I mentioned how Robin Miller single-handedly made dinners at La Casa Shannon leaps-and-bounds more enjoyable.  For this meal, I took a page from her book and adapted her original recipe to my tastes.

Tonight's dish: Spicy Green Chile Chicken Empanadas

To start, you will need:

1 box refrigerated pie crusts (make sure you get the flat kind, not the ones in the pie tin)
1 4oz can of diced green chilies
1 cup shredded cheese (Monterey jack or a Mexican blend works great)
2 cups shredded pre-cooked chicken (about 2 single breasts)

I had cooked my chicken earlier in the week, thanks to a delicious crock-pot meal.  That meal also included a spicy (wowza!) sauce, so my chicken had a really great kick.  If I started with plain chicken (I often pick up a rotisserie chicken for this meal), then I usually add 1/4 to 1/3 cup Red Chili Sauce to the recipe.  This makes the mixture less dry, and gives it some additional flavor.

Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl and stir!  Also - preheat your oven to 425!

Next, unwrap one of the pie crusts, and roll out onto an un-greased cookie sheet.  (The pie crusts have enough butter, you don't need to slick your pan.)

Then, divide the chicken mixture into four equal amounts and place "dollops" on pie crust to form four wedges of filling.

Then unwrap the second pie crust and place on top!

With a sharp knife, cut the circles into four equal wedges, and pinch around the sides to seal all four empanadas closed.

With your knife, make two slits on the top of each empanada, to let steam out while it bakes!

Bake these babies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

In the meantime, I make a dip/topping.  I find the pie crusts can be a bit dry, so I make up a quick mixture for some additional flavor and moisture.  So take out:

1 lime
1 container sour cream

In a small bowl, I mix up sour cream and grated lime zest.  This cooling flavor is perfect to balance out any heat from the spicy chicken in your empanadas.  If you wanted, you could also use a chipotle ranch salad dressing instead, it's a pretty easy item to find at your grocery store.

Here are my empanadas - straight from the oven!

(Sorry about the flash, my kitchen is so dark.  They are actually more "done" than they look.  The next photo shows this a bit better.)

I served my empanadas with a side of diced avocado, tossed in lime juice from the lime I zested.

I'm not lying when I say this dinner takes less than 20 minutes to make.  It's so easy and really tasty.  Plus, the Hubby and I always have left overs for lunch the next day. (bonus!)  To help you out, since I love y'all so much, I made you a PDF of the recipe too!


Green Chile Chicken Empanadas