Week Six: School Vacation, Birthday Week and Other Distractions

School vacation week always coincides with my birthday.  It's typically chock full full of activity and meals at restaurants with family and friends. None of that changed this year, except one thing: healthier food choices. Fast food high calorie quickies were out and side salads were in.

From our first springtime hot dog and soft-serve ice cream at Fairview Deli, owned by our good friends Ron and Pam (Pam is Debby's husband's cousin...welcome to Chicopee!) to a meal at a local Thai and Korean restaurant, where the food was made to order with fresh ingredients and not much salt, we ate a little bit of everything.

By midweek, it was a day at the beach...literally.  We had a great day trip to Rhode Island with Debby and her son, John Paul. Debby treated us to a 4 plus pound lobster for my birthday! You have to put fresh seafood into the healthier column, except for the butter and the fried whole belly clams we just had to have at the shore .. yum!

Nobody's perfect. The trip did include a healthy stroll on the beach on a beautiful sunny day. That news pleased my physical therapist.

Other than preparing a simple breakfast every morning, I barely cooked, but JJ took a turn in the kitchen.  My son made pork empanadas with Debby on a day that I had to be at the office. Served with a side salad, a perfect meal after a long day of work and physical therapy.

SAVORY PORK EMPANADAS
Active Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes
Dough
1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
2/3 stick butter, softened
1 large egg beaten lightly with 1/2 tablespoon water (for egg wash)

Sift the flour, then sift it again with the salt, baking powder, and sugar, and set aside. In a large bowl, using a hand or electric mixer, mix the cream cheese and butter together until well blended. Add the flour mixture and mix until smooth. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Filling
2 cups cooked pork tenderloin, chopped (chicken tenderloins work well, too)
1/2 cup grated Mexican cheese blend
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 pimento stuffed olives, chopped fine
1 tablespoon BBQ sauce
Dash of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

In a large bowl, combine filling ingredients and mix well.

Assemble and Bake
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll 1/2 the dough into a 10 inch circle. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining dough, making 15 to 18 circles total.

Arrange each round on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush the edges of crust with egg wash. Place one heaping teaspoon of filling mixture in the center of the round.  Brush dough edges with egg wash. Fold the dough over the filling, then press the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with remaining rounds and filling mixture. Assembled empanadas can be refrigerated overnight or frozen up to 1 month.

Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. If baking after freezing, place frozen empanandas on prepared baking sheet and allow to defrost about an hour prior to baking. If desired, brush tops with egg wash. Place empanadas in the preheated 400 degree oven, immediately lower heat to 375 degrees F and bake for 15-17 minutes. Serve hot with favorite BBQ sauce for dipping (if desired).