Cooking With Chela Simpson

Empanadas

Pastry:
6 cups flour
6 T shortening
2 egg yolks *(save the whites to brush on the pastry before baking)
1 T sugar
1 ½ cups lukewarm water
1 t salt


Filling:
3 T shortening or oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 lb tender beef or boiled chicken, finely chopped
1 ½ cups water (or broth from chicken)
1 cup diced potatoes
2 hard boiled eggs, diced
salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, red chili powder to taste

Prepare the dough the day before you need it. Mix in all the ingredients and knead well. Put in a bowl covered with a damp cloth and keep in the refrigerator overnight.

Prepare the filling also the day before. Fry the onion in the shortening or oil and add the seasonings. Add the meat and potatoes and cook for a few minutes. Mix well and keep in the refrigerator overnight.

Separate the dough into pieces that will make 3 to 4 inch rounds. Put 1 heaping tablespoon of filling on each pastry round and add some of the eggs. Brush the dough edges with water to seal well. Bring sides up and around the top with a rope like edge. Put on greased and floured cookie sheets. Brush with egg whites. Bake at 450º for 20-30 minutes.
Makes 20.

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Chela's Gooey Home Baked Cookies

¾ cup of granulated sugar 2 ¼ cups of flour
¾ cup brown sugar 1 t. baking soda
2 eggs 1 t. salt
1 t. vanilla 2 cups of chocolate chips
2 sticks of butter (semi sweet Nestle)


Preheat oven to 375 °

Combine the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together in a mixing bowl and stir together with a wire whisk. Add the vanilla and eggs and stir together. Slowly add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix thoroughly. Add the chocolate chips and stir with a spoon.

Place a spoonful of mixture onto an un-greased cookie sheet. Place about ¾” apart. Bake for about 8 minutes. They will appear doughy, but remove them anyway and place onto foil to cool off. Continue, until all cookie dough is baked.
These will be chewy little morsels!

Serve with a tall glass of cold milk

Enjoy!

* For a pan cookie, reduce oven temperature to 350°. Spread the entire cookie dough mixture onto an un-greased cookie sheet. Let bake for 18 minutes. Cookie will be golden brown.

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Pecandy

Candy: Topping:
2 Sticks of butter 3 Hershey Bars
1 cup sugar ½ cup crushed pecans
3 T. water
1 t. vanilla

Put all Candy ingredients in a saucepan. Consistently stir with a wire whisk until the mixture is the color of peanut butter. (It is helpful to have a jar of peanut butter out on the counter as you cook since it is darker than we realize.) Then quickly pour mixture into a cookie sheet and spread the mixture by tilting the pan. Once all spread, place the Hershey Bars onto the mixture and allow them to melt. Once melted, spread all over the mixture. Sprinkle the crushed pecans all over the chocolate. Allow the candy to cool off.

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Chela’s Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 12 oz. pkg Jimmy Dean turkey and pork sausage
1 lb. ground beef
2 15 oz. cans of Hunts ready Italian tomato sauce
16 oz. tub of small curd cottage cheese
8 oz. tub of Ricotta Cheese
1 round of Mozzarella cheese
1 8 oz. lasagna noodles
Spices: cumin, dried oregano, garlic powder, garlic salt, pepper, paprika

Directions:
Mix together the ground beef and sausage in frying pan. Season with all the spices. Brown the meat mixture. Drain the fat. In large Pyrex bowl, combine the cottage cheese, Ricotta cheese, drained meat, and tomato sauce. In a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan, layer noodles, meat mixture, and Mozzarella cheese and repeat one more time, ending with Mozzarella. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 10 to 15 more minutes until cheese is lightly browned.

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Chela’s Salsa

Ingredients:

6 large Tomatoes 3 Yellow Chili’s
1 bunch of Cilantro 1 bunch of Green Onions
1 small can Tomato Sauce
Garlic Salt

Directions:

Cover the tomatoes in a large pan of water. Bring the tomatoes to a boil. Cover
the yellow chili’s in a medium size pan of water. Bring the yellow chilis to a
boil. Turn down the flame and let them both simmer for about 15- 20 minutes.

While the tomatoes and chilis are boiling, chop up the cilantro and green onions. Place them in the bowl you are going to keep the salsa in.

When the tomatoes and chilis are done boiling, take the tail off of the chili’s and put them in the blender. Skin and core the tomatoes and put them in the blender. Add the small can of tomato sauce and blend together. Add the blended ingredients to the chopped ingredients. Sprinkle Garlic Salt generously all
across the top of the salsa. Mix together with a fork.

Taste. and add more garlic salt if needed.
Enjoy!

*Serve with homemade chips or buy some fresh
chips from Superior Market.

*Add some Habanero chili’s for spicier kick to
the salsa.

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