Main Dishes

Ramen and Veg

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The ramen experience! Everyone has had ramen. You can always tell when school is starting because grocery stores, particularly in college towns, have cases of ramen on an end cap! An inexpensive, satisfying, and easy to prepare meal for young people living on their own. Years ago when I was still working, a friend and coworker brought a ramen salad to a potluck we were having. The ramen in that salad is just crumbled, not cooked. The dressing hydrates it, but it still has a little crunch. After visiting the Chicago Botanic Garden Christmas light show our daughter and son-in-law took us to a restaurant that specializes in Ramen dishes (and served wonderful sushi and cocktails). After a cold, rainy walk the hot ramen was especially delicious. This doesn’t replicate the dish we had at the Torino Ramen in Wilmette, and it’s nothing like my friend’s salad recipe, or the ramen of your college days, but it is a tasty version of a ramen dish. We had this as a meal in itself, but it would also be a good side dish with a protein. This is a modified version of a recipe I saw online and, like most savory recipes, it can be further modified based on personal preferences.

Ingredients:

2 blocks of ramen

2 carrots matchsticked

2 cups of broccoli florets

1/2 red bell pepper sliced

1 cup snap peas

1 cup edamame

1 generous tsp each of ginger, paprika, Korean chili flakes, cumin and garlic

3/4 cup coconut milk

1 1/2 cups broth (I used chicken broth from Better than Bouillon)

1 T soy sauce

This is prepared stovetop in a large pot with a lid. Wash and prep your vegetables and add them to the pot along with the noodles. If you’re using the individual ramen packets discard the flavor packets.

In a bowl or large measuring cup whisk together the coconut milk, broth, and spices and pour it over the noodles and vegetables. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover the pot, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stopping halfway through to stir. You don’t want to overcook the noodles or the vegetables.

Plate, garnish with sesame seeds, and enjoy.

NOTE: Another recipe that can be modified based on ingredients you have on hand. The spice level is moderate. The next time I make this I will add some yellow miso paste. Miso is fermented soybean paste, and it adds great umami flavor.

Dumplings in Thai Coconut Curry Sauce

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This is something that I found scrolling reels on Instagram, a favorite past time of mine. To me, what makes cooking fun and interesting is experimenting with new recipes. To be honest, this was my first time using curry paste. I’ve used curry powder before which is typically used in Indian cuisine, but I’m a little scared of using too much heat in dishes. Particularly dishes I plan on eating. The red curry paste is make from chilis, is frequently used in Thai dishes, and it’s got a major kick. At least for me. There’s spice that makes your eyes water and takes your breath away, and there’s spice that’s a flavor bomb and enhances the dish. I’d say the red curry paste is in the middle. I need to train my palate. I’m working on it. I did cut the paste in half when I made this recipe. I usually have pot stickers aka dumplings in the freezer. Occasionally we have them for a quick lunch with a dipping sauce. This recipe comes together pretty quickly, and fed two of us plus leftovers. As with most savory recipes it’s a good outline that can be modified based on taste preferences and what you have on hand.

Ingredients:

1 14oz can of full fat coconut milk

2 T red Thai curry paste (I used 1 T, but suit yourself)

2-3 cloves of minced garlic

3 T soy sauce

2 T agave

1 red bell pepper thinly sliced

1-2 cups of broccoli florets

3 cups of chopped bok choy

15 frozen pot stickers/dumplings (flavor of your choice)

1/4 cup green onions chopped for garnish

sesame seeds for garnish

1-2 T chili crisp for more heat (I omitted)

Preheat your oven to 375. Use a 3.5 quart oven safe casserole dish. Put the milk, curry paste, garlic, soy sauce, and agave into the casserole pan and whisk together until everything is incorporated.

Once you’ve whisked the sauce ingredients wash and chop your vegetables.

Toss your vegetables in the sauce to evenly coat them. Nestle in the potstickers.

Spoon some of the sauce over each dumpling. Cover with foil and bake for approximately 30 minutes. The potstickers went in frozen so check for doneness after 30 minutes. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Add chili crisp if you have a notion to. We enjoyed this with a little jasmine rice.

NOTE: Feel free to change out some of the vegetables. Cabbage, snow peas, mushrooms, carrots, or sweet onions would be good additions or substitutions. I discovered super easy to use ginger paste at Aldi, and I keep jarred minced garlic in the fridge for a time saver because why not?!

Pork and Ramen

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I haven’t blogged anything in months, largely because we adopted a rescue pup just prior to Thanksgiving, and he’s turned our lives a little upside down. His name is Leo, and I tell people all the time that Leo is A LOT, but that really is an understatement. Hopefully with these few months under our belts as Leo’s new parents things will calm down. Hopefully. And I have missed working on my blog. In addition to sharing recipes with people, blogging keeps recipes I enjoy making and we enjoy eating where I can actually find them. Sometimes I find ideas and inspiration from instagram reels and other online sites, make notation on little slips of paper, and then waste time searching for those pieces of inspiration. This pork and ramen recipe is my interpretation of something I saw on Instagram. It comes together quickly, can be modified based on ingredients you have on hand, and is a simple yet delicious meal.

Ingredients:

2 packages of ramen (w/o seasoning)

1 cup of broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 T toasted sesame oil

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 T ginger grated

1 cup green onions chopped

1 cup bell pepper sliced

1 T cornstarch with 2 T water

Salt and Pepper to taste

Sesame Seeds for serving

Anyone who cooks on a regular basis knows that whatever you’re cooking comes together much faster when the ingredients have been prepped before you get started. Now that everything is ready, cook the ground meat in a large skillet over medium high heat until browned.

Once the meat has browned add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Stir until combined. Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer.

Once it’s simmering add the ramen, peppers, and green onions. Simmer for about five minutes until the noodles are tender.

Stir in the cornstarch slurry. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I did a quick stir fry of pea pods and served the meat and ramen over the pea pods. Super easy and super tasty! A quick stir fry of broccoli, bok choy, or cabbage would also all be good additions.

NOTE: Ground beef or chicken could be substituted for ground pork. I used Better than Bouillon Chicken broth but you could substitute vegetable or beef broth.

I usually buy a large knob of ginger, cut and peel it, and store it in the freezer. Recently I discovered tubes of ginger which are so convenient and easy to use.

Zucchini Ravioli

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I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I am hooked on Instagram reels, particularly food reels. I was intrigued by these little ravioli pockets made with zucchini, and since I had a plan to can tomato sauce yesterday, I decided it was a perfect day to try my hand at these “healthier” ravioli. And to test my sauce. This is the time of year that zucchini is very plentiful, but you don’t want to use the giant ones. Save those for making breads and cakes and savory dishes like ratatouille. The pockets were fun and easy to make. I must admit that ravioli made with homemade pasta trumps zucchini ravioli by a smidge, but I thought these were delicious. And if you’re counting calories, all the better! Love experimenting with new things…and even happier when they are a success.

Filling Ingredients:

15 oz of ricotta

1 egg

1 1/2 cups of mozzarella

3/4 cup fresh grated parmigiana

1 1/2 cups of chopped spinach (fresh or frozen)

2 tsp Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

tomato sauce of your choosing

And 3 medium size zucchini

Add all of the filling ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir well to combine.

I used a mandolin to slice my zucchini but you could also use a peeler. You want the slices to be nice and thin to get a good fold.

Preheat your oven to 375. Start forming your ravioli. Take two zucchini ribbons and crisscross them. Put a generous tablespoon of filling in the center and fold the ends over to form a pocket.

The filling and zucchini made approximately 2 dozen ravioli.

I lined a jelly roll pan with heavy foil (for easy clean-up) and spread about a cup of sauce in the pan. Arrange the ravioli on top of the sauce.

Add a dollop of sauce on top of each pocket.

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiana cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.

Serve with a nice salad and some garlic bread, and enjoy a delicious, healthy, almost diet worthy dinner!

NOTE: You can modify the filling based on personal preference. My filling recipe is basically the filling I use for stuffed shells and lasagna. Fresh parsley or basil could be substituted for the spinach.

Prefer an Alfredo over a red sauce…that would be delicious as well.

Lamb Chops

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Lamb chops are one of my favorite entrees. Years ago I was at a work event and a group of us went out to dinner. It was a fancy restaurant and I ordered a rack of lamb. I was polite and ate them with a knife and fork. When I was done eating the person sitting next to me asked if he could chew on the bones from my lamb. I told him to have at it, but a little of me was envious that he could get all the delicious bits off the bones. At home, pick those bones up and chew away! I recently picked up some lamb chops at Costco that were thick and meaty and delicious. (Of course they were large, it’s Costco). The chops look like a mini t-bone with a beautiful buttery fat cap. Lamb has a stronger, distinctive, gamely flavor. It’s a great source of vitamins and minerals including iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. Lamb is also a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids which have an anti-inflammatory effect. Until I did a little research, I did not know that lamb is the oldest known domesticated meat species, entering the human diet about 9,000 years ago in the Middle East. All of these things make me feel good about eating them, but really, I just love the taste. This preparation is very simple. An hour or two in the marinade and then sizzling on a cast iron skillet.

Marinade Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tsp dried oregano

4 cloves of garlic minced

salt and pepper to taste

Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a dish that will accommodate the chops.

Add the chops, cover with Sarah wrap, and let sit for one to two hours flipping the chops halfway through.

Put your cast iron pan on the stove on high for a few minutes. You should hear a nice sizzle when you put your chops down. Depending on the thickness cook for 3-5 minutes per side. Also sear all sides of the chops.

Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. For medium rare take the chops off the heat at 130, for medium pull at 150. Allow them to rest, tented with foil, for 10-15 minutes. The internal temperature will come up about 10 degrees while resting and the chops will be extra juicy. As you can see, we like our lamb (and beef) medium rare.

I served ours with an oven roasted veggie combo…sweet potato, bell peppers, sweet onion, and Brussels sprouts. The chops are the star of the show, the sides are the supporting cast. Enjoy.

NOTE: You can substitute chopped fresh rosemary and thyme for the dried oregano. Some people like a little mint jelly with their lamb chops.

Poached Cod in Tomato Sauce

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I grew up in a family that loved to fish so we ate fish often…freshwater fish like coho, lake trout, perch, bluegill. Most often fish was pan fried, deep fried, or occasionally baked or broiled. Fish soup (kalamojakka) and fish boils were also enjoyed regularly. In this house we love fish, and we love all things tomato, so this poached cod is the perfect combination of the two. I’ve been making this dish for a long time and used to serve it over rice, but the last few times I’ve served it with grits instead. Kind of reminiscent of shrimp and grits. Poached fish is very moist and the broth adds flavor without added fat. Excellent choice if you’re watching calories. Regardless of how it’s prepared, fish cooks quickly making it a perfect dinner when time is short.

Ingredients:

Cod filets (approximately a pound and a half)

2 pints diced tomatoes

1 T olive oil

1/2 cup diced onion

1/4 cup diced bell pepper

2 cloves garlic minced

1-2 T capers

1-2 T sliced kalamata olives

1 T dried oregano

2 tsp pepper flakes (more or less depending on personal preference)

salt and pepper to taste

fresh parsley for garnish

Prepping all of your ingredients beforehand makes cooking go smoother and faster.

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pan over medium high heat and sauté the onions and peppers for 3-4 minutes until they are tender. Stir in the garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and salt to taste and sauté an additional minute or so.

Add the tomatoes, olives, and capers. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally.

While the sauce is simmering get your filets ready. Use paper towel to pat the fish dry. Cut the filets into pieces and season them with salt and pepper.

Nestle the fish in the sauce. Cover the pan and simmer for approximately 8 minutes. The fish should flake nicely. Serve the fish atop your rice or grits and ladle on some of the sauce. Garnish with some fresh parsley.

Enjoy!

NOTES: This recipe would work well with any meaty white fish. I have not used trout or salmon, but those may be fine as well. Fish skin is best when it is crispy so no skin when poaching. Adjust the spice level based on personal preference.

The leftover broth is a great addition to soup or chowder so save it.

Sheet-Pan Quesadillas

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I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I am hooked on Instagram reels. Some people love Pinterest, I love Instagram reels. This is a “reel” recipe that I thought would be a perfect way to make quesadillas for a group of people. I made a couple modification and, second time around, will make a couple more modifications. The construction is really easy with very basic ingredients. On Saturday nights we have a group of friends, twelve folks if everyone is able to join, and we play trivial pursuit or sing karaoke or gather around a bonfire. And we eat very well. Our group first began getting together during the pandemic, and we started out sharing finger foods. Everyone brings something to pass. The finger foods soon evolved into full fledged meals. We call ourselves the Saturday Nighters. The pandemic will be long gone and our group will still be getting together on Saturday nights.

To make these quesadillas you’ll need to have two jelly roll pans measuring approximately 18×13. The first pan to assemble the quesadillas, and the second to weight it down while it bakes. I also used my cast iron fry pan for additional weight while it baked.

Ingredients:

8 – 10 large tortillas (Burrito size)

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 sweet pepper chopped

Meat from a rotisserie chicken shredded (my shredded chicken weighed out at 1.5 pounds)

1 can black beans

1 cup frozen corn

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

3 cups of shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, or a combination of both)

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onions and peppers until tender, about 5 minutes.

Rinse the beans and the corn. In a large bowl stir together the shredded chicken, beans, corn, and sautéed onion and peppers.

Measure out the seasonings and stir into the chicken mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Preheat your oven to 425. Line the first jelly roll pan with parchment paper, and spray with Pam. Put 2 tortillas in the center of the sheet pan and put down 6 additional tortillas half in, half out of the pan.

Spread the chicken and vegetable mixture evenly over the tortillas.

Sprinkle the cheese over the meat and vegetable mixture.

Put two tortillas over the filling in the center of the pan and fold the other six tortillas over.

Spray the bottom of the second pan with Pam and place that pan on top of the tortillas. Bake for 15 minutes with the pan on top. Remove the second pan and bake an additional 5 minutes until the top is a light golden brown. Remove from the oven to a cutting surface. Allow the quesadilla to cool for a few minutes before cutting.

Put out dishes of your favorite quesadilla toppings and dig in. I served ours with a red chunky salsa, a spicy salsa verde, jalapeños, and guacamole. Sour cream, black olives, sliced green onions, and additional cheese would also be great add ons.

NOTE. The next time I make these I will increase the quantity of onions and peppers, sauté a little fresh jalapeño in with the other peppers, and add cilantro to the mix. You could also substitute pinto beans or refried beans for the black beans.

For a vegetarian variation beans, cheese, and vegetables would be very satisfying.

The recipe recommended a 20 minute bake with the top pan on and 5 minutes without. I would reduce the initial bake time to 15 minutes. You can see from the picture that my tortillas were a little extra crispy. You could also sprinkle on a little additional shredded cheese for the last 5 minute bake.

Cheesy Cabbage Gratin

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One of the food magazines that I subscribe to is Cuisine at Home. It’s a magazine that has consistently good recipes, easy to follow instructions, and great pictures. The latest issue is full of “comfort foods.” We love cabbage and the September/October issue has several cabbage recipes including a chocolate cake with cabbage and this cheesy cabbage gratin. I haven’t tried the chocolate cake with cabbage but I’ve made this gratin recipe twice since this magazine came in the mail. The first time I made it we had it with polish sausage. Most recently we made it a vegetarian meal with sliced tomatoes and corn on the cob.

There is red, white and green cabbage. Cabbage is closely related to broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. Generally a head of cabbage is between one to two pounds. The perfect size for this recipe. I have a crock full of shredded cabbage right now that is working it’s way to sauerkraut. Each of the heads of cabbage I shredded for the kraut weighed between ten and twelve pounds. In the heat of summer cabbages can grow quite large…the largest recorded weighed in at a little over 138 pounds. You could make a lot of cabbage gratin with that!! Cabbage is a good source of dietary fiber and Vitamin K and C. It is economical and there are countless ways to prepare cabbage…stewing, frying, braising, pickling, fermenting. There are lots of great soup recipes that call for cabbage. If you like cabbage and bacon and cheese you will thoroughly enjoy this dish regardless of what you serve up on the side.

Ingredients:

1 head of green cabbage

2 T olive oil

Salt and pepper

6 strips of bacon diced

1 cup sliced leeks

1 T minced garlic

1 T AP flour

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup shredded gruyere cheese

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

2 T lemon juice

2 T chopped fresh thyme

Ingredients for the Topping

1 T olive oil

3/4 cups fresh bread crumbs

1/2 cup shredded gruyere

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 tsp minced lemon zest

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Peel off the tough outer layers of cabbage and cut the cabbage into eight wedges. The instructions recommended leaving the core intact to help the wedges hold together while roasting. I removed the core before roasting and had no problem. Place the wedges on the baking sheet, drizzle with the oil and season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 40-45 minutes until the cabbage is tender and the edges are golden.

While your cabbage is roasting cook your diced bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towel.

Add the leeks to the skillet with the bacon drippings and cook over medium heat until they are softened. Stir in the garlic and the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.

Stir in the cream and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook until the mixture begins to thicken, 6-8 minutes.

Off heat, stir in the bacon, gruyere, parmesan and lemon juice.

Set the cheese sauce aside and prepare the bread crumb topping. Heat 1 T olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the bread crumbs until they begin to toast up and transfer them to a bowl to cool for about 5 minutes.

Once the bread crumbs have cooled, stir in the cheeses and lemon zest.

Now you’re ready to assemble the gratin. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Arrange the cabbage in the dish, cut side down. Pour the cheese sauce over the cabbage wedges and sprinkle with the bread crumb topping.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and the crumb topping has browned.

Serve hot as side dish to pork loin, chops or sausage or as the main dish. Maybe even as a Thanksgiving side dish. Enjoy!

NOTE: I save crusts and odds and ends of stale bread In the refrigerator, grind them in my food processor and freeze them in zip lock bags. The bread doesn’t go to waste and they’re perfect for recipes like this one.

Pork Meatballs Asian Style

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Since this pandemic has had us sheltering at home, most of us are doing a lot more cooking than usual.  And, if you’re like me, you keep trying to come up with new dishes to break the monotony.  Unless, of course, monotony is what you actually prefer.  I do know people who could easily survive on pizza or burgers or Mac and cheese as a steady diet. Yesterday I had a pound of ground pork thawed and was trying to think of something different to make for dinner.  I was talking to my daughter and she shared this recipe which they had recently made.  Based on what was available in my fridge and pantry I modified the recipe a bit, and I’m sharing my own take.  This was a quick and easy dish to prepare and packed a lot of flavor.  We devoured all but 4-5 meatballs!

Meatball Ingredients:

1 pound of ground pork

2-3 green onions finely sliced

1 inch of fresh ginger grated

1-2 cloves of garlic grated

3/4 cup of fresh bread crumbs

Add all of the ingredients to the pork.

Before you start mixing the meatball ingredients, cover a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Mix well and shape into 12-14 meatballs.  Place the meatballs on one end of the baking sheet.

Cut vegetables of your choosing into bite size pieces.  A generous 2 to 3 cups.  I used broccoli florets, sweet peppers, mushrooms, and pea pods.

Toss the vegetables in a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil or olive oil and put them on the other end of the baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  While the oven is preheating prepare your sauce.

Sauce Ingredients:

1 T toasted sesame oil

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup orange juice

3 T hoisin sauce

3 T honey

2 T rice vinegar

1 tsp crushed red pepper (more or less based on personal preference)

Measure out all of your ingredients in a medium size heavy saucepan.

Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat and keep it at a slow boil for 8-10 minutes until it is reduced by about a third.   Remove from the heat.

While your sauce is cooking, put the meatballs and vegetables in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.  At this point, ladle about a third to half of the sauce over the meatballs and return them to the oven for another 3-4 minutes.

Serve the meatballs, vegetables and sauce over rice.  I used brown rice with quinoa, but use your favorite rice.  I garnished ours with thin sliced radishes, green onion, and cilantro.

NOTE:  The original recipe called for ground chicken or turkey but I really liked the ground pork.  I think that beef might be too heavy for this dish but, as with all recipes, it’s all about personal preference.

You can use vegetables of your choosing; zucchini or summer squash, onion, green beans.  I did not have low sodium soy sauce so I did not add any additional salt and none was necessary.

Use garnishes of your choice including sesame seeds or a little fresh basil.  It all makes a beautiful plate of food.  Enjoy.

Empanadas

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It occurred to me, as I was making the empanadas today, the last couple of weeks have been an ethnic diversity palooza in my kitchen.  I made a Moroccan chicken tagine with apricots and olives, Asian inspired sticky ginger sesame chicken meatballs, Mexican tostadas with my friend’s pickled pigs feet sauce, a Vietnamese shrimp spring roll bowl with sweet chili mango sauce, Italian chicken parmesan with linguine and marinara, Polish pierogis with polish sausage and cabbage, and Jewish penicillin, chicken soup with matzo balls.  It’s all been good.  A couple recipes were better than others.  But good just the same.  It makes cooking and mealtime much more interesting when you experiment and try new dishes.  A couple weeks ago I got new kitchen gadgets that made pierogis and empanadas more fun to make…a crimper and a roller that cuts the dough into perfectly sized discs to fit the crimper.  The gadgets are the real reason I was inspired to make the empanadas today.  I have a few packages of pierogis in my freezer.  Now I will have a few bags of empanadas in my freezer.  The recipe for the empanadas comes from America’s Test Kitchen, special collector’s edition, The Best Mexican Recipes.  There are a lot of great recipes in that magazine.

Dough ingredients:

3 3/4 cups AP flour (18 3/4 oz.)

1 T sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

12 T unsalted, chilled butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 1/4 cups ice water

2 T olive oil

Process the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined.  Scatter the butter in the processor over the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.  Add 1/4 cup of water at a time, stirring after each addition.  You may not need to use all of the water.  Once the dough sticks together, turn out onto a clean, dry work surface and gently press into a cohesive ball.  Divide the dough into two discs, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for one hour.  Let the chilled dough sit out on the counter for a few minutes before rolling.

While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling.  I made a vegetarian filling with corn, peppers, and cheese.

Filling Ingredients:

2 T unsalted butter

1 poblano pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped fine

3 whole canned mild green chilis chopped fine

3 green onions, whites minced and greens sliced thin

1 small mild orange pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped fine

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

salt and pepper

3/4 cup frozen corn thawed

1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped

6 oz shredded Jack cheese

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook the peppers and scallion whites until softened and lightly browned.

Stir in the garlic and the spices and cook another 30 seconds until fragrant.

Stir in the corn and remove from the heat.  Put the corn, pepper mixture in a bowl and refrigerate until completely cool.

While that’s chilling, slice the scallion greens, cilantro, and grate the Jack cheese.  Once cool, mix all of the ingredients together and now you’re ready to start rolling your dough.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut discs with a biscuit cutter, a glass, or, if you’re fortunate enough to have one of these rollers, roll on.

Fill each circle with 1 T of filling.  Brush the edges of the dough with water to help ensure a good seal.  Fold the dough over and crimp the edges with the tines of a fork.  Or, if you’re fortunate enough to have a crimper, crimp on.

Transfer the empanadas to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Brush each with olive oil.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

Allow to cool and enjoy!

NOTE:  The filling options are endless.  There is a beef and cheese filling in the magazine and many, many more recipes on line.  The empanadas freeze well.  Put them in the freezer on a cookie sheet until frozen and then transfer them to zip lock freezer bags.  Bake them a few extra minutes if they’ve come out of the freezer.  Serve them as is or with salsa or Mexican crema.