Empan-acos....what you get when you cross a Empanada with a Taco ;)

Ok....so today I took chicken thighs out for dinner because I totally planned to make oven fried chicken. However.....while trying to nap today....I got an "idea"....now I must be honest with you......my "ideas" drive my husband crazy. He always comes into the kitchen and says......"Oh no, what are you making now?"

Granted, it would have been safe to stick with the chicken.....but who likes safe?? I like to step out and take some risks....ok so maybe it wasn't that big of a risk....but it was definitely something worth writing about!! So here's the story. Last night I made a delicious dinner of pork roast, mashed potatoes, gravy and corn. MMm..it was so good....I made a rub of cloves, brown sugar, ginger, ground mustard, garlic powder, cinnamon, paprika and I rubbed that piggy down. Then I seared the rub on Mr Oinky and popped him in the oven. Oh man was it good!! Soooooo.....anyways......I had all these leftovers today and didn't want them to go to waste, and that's how I came up with Empan-acos. Its a cross between a Empanada and a Taco. Get it??? Empanaco????? I thought it was clever!! Typically Empanadas are made with a flour dough like pie crust, but I used Masa!!

Please note when you read this recipe....well one you can use whatever the heck filling you want.....but two I just threw the ingredients in the bowl so my measurements are approximations!! :)

Outer Shell
3 cups Masa
2 T tomato bouillon powder
1 tsp season salt
2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups water (make sure dough is nice and wet and soft)
Filling (I used)
Pork roast
corn
mashed potatoes
Mix all filling ingredients together. Mix all outer shell ingredients together use a tortilla press and use a golf ball sized masa ball to make a tortilla. Put a tablespoon sized scoop of filling on one side of the tortilla and any kind of cheese chunk if you want (I used colby jack). Fold over the 'tortilla' and press edges together. Drop into hot oil and fry until golden brown. Break that puppy open and watch the cheese ooze then bite into it and burn your tongue.