Empanada with Chicken, Squash, Asparagus, & Mushrooms

Empanadas are a staple dinner in our family! We have a favorite crust but we make the filling different every time. 

Empanada Dough

Ingredients
1c flour
1 stick butter - cubed
4oz cream cheese - cubed

Instructions
So easy- just mix the three ingredients all up, either by hand or use a food processor with a dough attachment, chill an hour, and then roll out. I use a bowl as a template to cut circles out of the dough with a knife. 

Since the cream cheese comes in 8oz packs where I shop, I always make two batches and freeze one. You can use this recipe for Empanadas, Pot Pies, even Dessert Fruit Pies...

Empanada Filling

Ingredients
2 chicken thighs chopped into small pieces and cooked
3 shallots sliced and sauteed
2 cloves garlic crushed and cooked
1 yellow squash diced small
1c chopped mushrooms, sauteed
1c sliced asparagus
Heavy cream, sherry, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, flour roux, herbes de provence (HDP)
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Cook the chicken in a little olive oil or butter, set aside. Cook the garlic and shallots in olive oil until soft, then add in the mushroom and some balsamic vinegar and cook until the mushrooms are how you like them. To keep the squash and asparagus from becoming soggy from the mushrooms, I like to cook them in a separate pan. Add the chicken, squash, and asparagus to the mushroom and shallot mixture. Pour in some cream, a splash of sherry or wine, and some flower (in a roux). Mix them all up, add your spices and adjust the thickness of the sauce until it is not runny by cooking it down or adding more flour if needed. Sometimes I add in a little cheese. Let cool.

Wet the edge of half of a circle of dough, add a spoon-full or two of filling in the center, fold over and press the edges together. Prick the top of the empanada with a fork a couple of times. Transfer to a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. I like to put an egg wash over the empanada and grind some salt over the top before I place in the oven to cook for ~10 minutes or until the dough looks nice and golden.

We eat ours with an arugula side salad and vinaigrette dressing.

Tip: If you can't wait for the mixture to cool, assemble the empanada right onto the baking sheet so that you don't have to try to transfer the empanada later (the heat of the mixture can cause the dough to get overly soft and make it impossible to transfer).