Chicken Empanadas

This recipe was so flavorful. I found it once again on my Blog cruising and having tried and seriously failed my hand at Empanadas before I was a little leery about trying it again. This recipe was soooooo much better then my expectations (True my expectations were low but still I was pleasantly surprised :) These were worth the effort I put into them. The outside was SO flaky and delicious and the inside was nice and full of flavor. Plus my guests were pretty impressed with them (It was my brother so it wasn't that hard :)

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
• 2 cups package shredded cheddar cheese
  
• 4 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  
• 1/4 cup diced green bell peppers
  
• 1 tbsp diced chilies form a can
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 refrigerated pie crusts (I made the dough from a Dorie Greenspan recipe)
  
• Water
• 1 egg
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 8 ingredients.

roll out your crust onto a lightly floured surface and cut out with a cookie cutter (3 inch)

Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round.

Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal.Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with egg and cook for 15-20 minutes.