Empanadas

We just arrived home from our amazing 2 week vacation and I'm feeling rather weird.
I barely got any sleep on our red-eye flight, my stomach is still struggling to adjust to digestion without acidophilus (although I'm so thankful for it's help in saving me from sickness in Cuba), I'm excited to get back into the swing of things yet don't really want to do anything at all, I'm exhausted but I can't sleep, I'm in the middle of load #3 of probably 6 loads of laundry, I'm hungry but have no groceries...
Am I painting a vivid picture of my day so far? Phew. I wish I could just fall asleep.

But on a positive note I felt so thankful this morning to be back in our little home, to climb into our bed that feels just right, to be able to make a cup of my favourite tea, listen to CBC radio and most importantly to be able to reach into the freezer and pull out one of these black bean empanadas for a quick and completely effortless lunch.

I discovered this recipe on the beloved Smitten Kitchen a few years ago and have lovingly referred to it ever since. Maybe a month or more ago I made 2 batches (one with black beans and one with ground beef) and froze them for the upcoming busy months and moments like these when I'm just too swamped/pooped/wiped out to really cook.

I follow Deb's recipe for the empanada dough, but I really just wing it for the filling. I generally start with lots of garlic, onions and oil in a pan. I add jalepenos, beef or beans, vegetables (peppers, corn, tomatoes etc) and lots and lots of chipotle powder, cumin, coriander, pepper, salt, and hot sauce and cook for 30-45 minutes. It's helpful to try to let the filling cool a bit before piling it onto the disks of dough.

They taste great as is but I usually like to serve them with some sort of salsa or guacamole or even sour cream.