Many thanks to HERDEZ® Brand for sponsoring today’s story and encouraging me to celebrate Día del Niño by cooking with my children! #HERDEZkids #Herdez #DiadelNiño
April 30th is Día Del Niño (Day of the Child), a day to celebrate our children in many Spanish speaking countries. As if my family needs an excuse to celebrate, this is just a fun day to spend with our kids. So many of my childhood memories revolve around being in the kitchen, cooking with my family. I remember helping my grandmother make empanadas as a child and it’s important to me to pass some of those memories on to my children. I invited my 5 year old in the kitchen with me to make beef and bell pepper empanadas, a slightly different recipe from my grandmother’s secret recipe. Her recipe consists of lots of sugar in the meat and raisins in place of peppers. It’s good, trust me. Or maybe it’s an acquired taste because my kids prefer my recipe, but I’m working on them. My son helped me cut the dough, spooned the mixture onto the dough and we chatted about our day. There’s just something magical about being in the kitchen, cooking together, that leads to some great conversation.
INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
1-2 tbps olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
2 puff pastry sheets
HERDEZ® Salsa Casera
HERDEZ® Salsa Verde
DIRECTIONS
Step 1: Sauté the chopped bell pepper and onions in a large pan in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Step 2: Once bell peppers and onions are semi-soft, brown the beef in the same pot until fully cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Step 3: Thaw the pastry sheets according to the package and, using a cookie cutter, cut into 3 inch circles. This is a great step for kids to help with!
Step 4: Add a heaping tablespoon of the cooked meat mixture to each pastry circle.
Step 5: Fold the pastry circle in half. Gently press the ends together and crimp with a fork.
Step 6: Arrange on a baking sheet, at least an inch apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Step 7: Allow to cool before enjoying!
Step 8: Don’t forget to put out a bowl of HERDEZ® salsa for dipping!
How will you be celebrating Día Del Niño? Visit the HERDEZ® website for more kid-friendly recipes! Enter the Celebrate Your Chef Giveaway on the HERDEZ® Facebook page for a chance to win one of the following prizes:
Grand Prize: 2 cooking classes for 2 (parent & child) plus $1000
2nd Place: 1 cooking classes for 2 (parent & child) plus $300
3rd Place: Child cooking gift basket
Weekly prizes/honorable mentions: Child size Día del Niño apron.
