Recipe Swap: Chicken Empanadas with Avocado Sauce

It's time again for another fabulous recipe swap, hosted by my good friend Sarah of A Taste of Home Cooking! This round was a Blogger's Choice, and I received the blog So Tasty, So Yummy, which is written by one of my fellow Texan girls! Katie makes so many great recipes for her family and for dinner parties with friends, that it was hard for me to choose just one recipe to try.

However, since the holidays just passed and the grocery store is the last place I want to spend any significant amount of time right now, I started looking for something that would use ingredients I already have on-hand. When I came across these Chicken Empanadas, I remembered that I still have some puff pastry sheets in the freezer, along with the other ingredients, and I thought this would be a great weeknight meal! And alas, the pastry puffing began.

I also had some tomatillo salsa in the fridge, so I cooked up and shredded the chicken then tossed it in the salsa before spooning onto the puff pastry. When I have more time I will definitely have to try Katie's tomatillo chicken though! The flavor of the tomatillo chicken go great with the avocado sauce, and the puff pastry bakes up golden brown and flaky. It was a great dinner and would also be great game-watching snacks!!

Chicken Empanadas with Avocado Sauce

Source: So Tasty, So Yummy

Ingredients

• 2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken
• ½ cup tomatillo salsa
• ½ cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
• 2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed
• 1 small avocado, peeled and pitted
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cooled chicken, tomatillo salsa, and cheese.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each puff pastry sheet and use a six-inch cookie or biscuit cutter to make 10 circles for each sheet (20 circles total).
4. Spoon ¼ cup of the chicken mixture onto 10 of the circles, then top with the remaining circles, crimping the edges together to seal.
5. Place the empanadas on the prepared baking sheet and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the avocado sauce by combining the avocado (cut into quarters or eights first), lime juice, vinegar, water, and salt in a food processor. Process until smooth and then, while the processor is still running, slowly add the olive oil through the top until incorporated.
7. Serve the sauce with the empanadas while still warm.