The Filipino Friends Blog

~ Chicken Empanada ~

[ad]

Hello friends, miss me? well a lot has happened and to get you started with is this recipe that is so yummy that its one of my many favorite Filipino food that is comfort food for me.  I’ll be posting more recipes and I want to thank the people that shared this = Philippine Food & Recipe

Chicken Empanada Ingredients:

Empanada Crust

* 300 g (2 1/2 cups) flour, plus extra for dusting
* 3 tablespoons sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 65 g (1/3 cup) chilled solid vegetable shortening
* 125 g(1/2 cup) butter
* 6-7 tablespoons iced water
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 1 tablespoon water

Chicken Empanada Filling

* 1 tablespoon oil
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1/2 medium onion, minced
* 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
* 450 g (1 lb) chicken breast or thigh meat, deboned and cubed
* 1 small potato, diced
* 1 small carrot, diced
* 250 ml (1 cup) water or chicken broth
* 100 g (1 cup) green peas (thawed, if frozen)
* 100 g (1/2 cup) raisins (optional)
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Chicken Empanada Cooking Baking Instructions:

1). To make the Crust, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

2). Cut in the butter and shortening with a knife or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the iced water, a little at a time while gathering the mixture to form a soft dough.

3). Form the dough into a ball. Sprinkle some flour onto a sheet of waxed paper and wrap dough in the waxed paper. Chill 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

4). To make the Filling, heat the oil and butter in a skillet. Add onions and saute about 1 minute, then add garlic and saute a further 1 minute. Add the cubed chicken meat and stir-fry until the chicken browns.

5). Add potatoes and carrots and cook 2-3 minutes. Stir in water or broth and simmer until potatoes and carrots are tender and chicken is fully cooked.

6). Add peas and raisins and simmer a further 2–3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. With a slotted spoon, drain ingredients and transfer to a bowl, letting excess liquid drip. Set aside for 30 minutes to cool.

7). Preheat oven to 200° C (400° F). Remove chilled dough from refrigerator. Lightly flour a pastry board or clean table top. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough on a pastry board until it is 3 mm (1/8 in) thick. Don’t roll it too thin or it will break when baked. Cut 10 cm (4 in) circles using a cutter and a small bowl.

8). Spoon about 1-2 teaspoons Filling into the middle of each pastry circle. Fold the circle so the edges meet and filling is sealed. Press the edges of the pastry with the tines of a fork.

9). Combine lightly beaten egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush surface of each folded puff with egg mixture. Arrange on a greased baking sheet. With a knife make 2-3 slits on the surface of each puff to allow steam to escape while baking.

10). Preheat baked puffs in oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside for a few minutes to cool before serving.

Recipe – Mixed Lettuce, Fennel and Orange Salad with Black Olive Vinaigrette

[ad]

I’ve found some great recipe that is healthy and good for you at the same time! Now, for many of us Filipino’s , we have many things that we inherit from our forefathers, I know in my family I have the symptoms of high blood pressure, cholesterol and cancer – so in turn, we have return to eating very healthy and cooking with less salt and less sugar (not the fake kind – ie sweet n low, equal) We have gone ORGANIC – right down to the Milk we drink and buy fresh vegetables from farmers and eating tons of fresh fruits from the farmer market. Cutting out all those HFCS that is in ALL of our canned goods and other food we eat!  We have taken to reading all the labels to see what’s in it – you be surprise to find all the chemicals you’ve been putting in your body!  You would be really upset to know that the government still thinks that its safe when it’s really not at all!  If you go to The Good Food Campaign – this has a lot more information and if you also Google “HFCS” you be surprised how much of it we eat and it’s NOT really good for us at all!

Here is the recipe – which you can also go to this link – Eating Well

Immigration Questions…

[ad]

Here is the video from Gel Santos show that she posted up on FB – I hope this helps some of you of your questions about your immigration and visa status.

Here is the Video – Gel Santos with Attorney Lou Tancinco