Here are recipes from The South American Table>\ for fried and baked empanada dough. Masa for Fried Empanadas 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt ¼ cup lard, vegetable shortening or unsalted butter ¼ cup water mixed with 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice To make the dough, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the lard and blend together with your fingers to make a coarse meal. Add the lemon water and mix well, adding a little more water if needed to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 or 24 equal-size pieces. Roll the pieces into balls and cover with plastic wrap. On a lightly floured board, roll each ball into a thin round. Put 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center for large empanadas and 1 teaspoon for small. Lightly moisten half of the edge with. Fold in half, pressing firmly to seal the edges; crimp with a fork. Place the empanadas on a lightly floured tray and cover with a kitchen towel. These can be assembled a couple of hours before frying and left at room temperature. Makes 8 large or 24 small empanadas ******************************************* Masa for Baked Empanadas Makes 16 large or 48 small 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder (optional) ½ cup lard or unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces ¼ cup vegetable shortening ½ cup warm water Hand method: In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder (if using). Add the lard and shortening and blend together with your fingers to make a coarse meal. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour or water if needed to make a soft dough. Knead in a bowl until smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes. Food processor method: Put the flour, salt and baking powder (if using) in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse for 5 seconds. Add the lard and shortening and process until the mixture looks like coarse meal, about 15 seconds. With the machine running, pour the water through the feed tube in a steady stream and process until the dough almost comes together into a ball. Remove from the bowl, knead a few times and let rest for 30 minutes. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface, cut into 2 pieces, and roll each piece into a log. Cut each log into 8 rounds for large empanadas; you will have 16 rounds. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll one round at a time into a circle about 5 inches in diameter. For smaller empanadas, cut the dough into 4 pieces and roll each into a log. Cut each log into 12 rounds, you will have 48 rounds. Roll one round at a time into a thin 3-inch circle. For the larger empanadas, place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the center of each circle, lightly moisten the edge of half the circle, fold it in half, and press firmly to seal the edges. Trim and crimp the edge with a fork dipped in flour, then pierce the tip once with the fork to allow steam to escape during baking. For the smaller ones, use 1 heaping teaspoon of filling and proceed as for the larger empanadas. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. The empanadas can be frozen at this point. Place on baking sheets lined with waxed paper and freeze, uncovered, for 1 hour. Store in tightly covered containers, separating them with layers of waxed paper.

Shirley, glad you enjoyed it. Which one of these two recipes did you try? Spinach con Queso From the Jalapeno Cafe This is Chili con Queso with a difference. For more heat, subsitute Pepper Jack for the Monterey Jack Cheese. The secret to making Chili con Quesco is to keep the heat low when melting the cheese. The first time I ever made the dish, I had my heat too high and I had a stringy mess. 1 10 oz. bunch fresh spinach or 1 10 ounce package plain frozen spinach, cooked and finely chopped with all the liquid pressed out 1 tablespoon oil 3 tablespoons finely minced onion 1 tablespoon flour 1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies, drained 1/2 cup whipping cream 3 oz package cream cheese, room temperature, cubed 8 ounces (2 cups)Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, grated. Tortilla chips for dipping In a heavy medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring until limp and clear, 3 to 4 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add spinach and green chilies. Cook and stir until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add cream and cook until mixture begins to boil, about 1 minute. REDUCE HEAT to low and gradually add cream cheese, stirring until cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the Monterey Jack cheese, stirring until melted. Do not allow mixture to boil or cheese will separate. Serve at once with tortilla chips for dipping. Server 4 to 6 Note: To keep mixture warm or to reheat, place onver a pan of hot, but not boiling water. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RE: RECIPE: Looking for Spinach con` Queso Recipe clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by roselin32 (My Page) on Tue, May 30, 06 at 11:48 Or this one: Spinach Con Queso 4 ounces half and half 4 ounces water or chicken stock 4 ounces grated parmesan cheese 1 pound Velveeta cheese 1 10 ounce pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, and water squeezed out cayenne to taste 8 ounces sour cream juice of 1 lemon Mix all ingredients in stock pot and melt together over low to medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Serve with tortilla chips.

I took a book out of the library: The best Chicken Recipes by Cook's Illustrated. There are 300 recipes and so far it looks really good. I'd love to be able to find it and buy it. It's a thick book, with no pictures, and I do like to see some pictures. I made this on Saturday and we raved about it. Orange-Honey Glazed Chicken Breasts (Cook's Illustrated) Corn syrup enhances the glaze without adding sweetness. The chicken stays moist and flavorful. 4 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts 1 1/2 cups orange juice, plus 2 tbsp 1/3 cup light corn syrup 3 tbsp honey 1 tbsp dijon mustard 1 tbsp vinegar 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes salt and pepper 1/4 cup flour 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 medium shallot, minced (3 tbsp) Preheat oven to 375. Whisk 1 1/2 cups orange juice, corn syrup, honey, dijon, vinegar and red pepper flakes, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside. Place flour in a shallow dish. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Coat the chicken with flour, shaking off the excess. Heat the oil in an oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat just until smoking. Brown chicken on both sides; 5-8 minutes per side, reducing the heat if the pan begins to scorch. Remove chicken to a plate. Pour off all but 1 tbsp fat from skillet. Over medium heat cook the shallot until softened, 1-2 minutes. Increase heat to high and add the orange juice mixture. Simmer, stirring occasionally until syrupy and reduced to about 1 cup; 6-10 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and tilt it so the glaze pools in the corner. Roll each breast in the glaze to coat and place skin-side down in the skillet. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the thickest part of the breast registers 160 to 165; 25-30 minutes. Turn the chicken skin-side up halfway through. Remove to a platter and let rest 5 minutes. Meanwhile, using oven mitts, return the skillet to high heat and cook the glaze, stirring constantly until thickened and syrupy, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the remaining 2 tbsp orange juice. Spoon some glaze over the chicken and pass the remainder separately.

Great recipes, Ilene! I especially love the quesadilla one! That's what I had yesterday for lunch, but I sprinkled cheese over the tortilla, heated it to melting in the microwave, spread salsa on one half and folded it over. Two of the 6" La Tortilla's made a terrific lunch! Thanks for posting the recipes. I've borrowed Dana Carpender's 500 Low Carb Recipes book from my library and it's full of good recipes. I'm out of town visiting my sister this weekend, but will post some of Dana's recipes next week. Have a great weekend, Ilene! Sue