Ever run across a recipe and think that looks great, save it to your brain only remembering it needed an odd ingredient? I knew if I wanted to make these, I would need to pick up empanada disks, so when I drove by the Mexican market I got some. Then, I got home and realized I didn’t have an onion, mushrooms or thawed chicken.
I adapted Country Living’s Chicken Potpie Turnovers into Chicken Handpies because I wanted to make them my own with a slightly shorter name. I used what I had on hand (canned chicken and frozen mixed vegetables) so that meant modifying the recipe. The one thing that’s significantly different is the amount of milk. If you’re using thawed chicken, you’ll want to visit the link to see how they cooked it with those two ingredients.
Ingredients:
1 can chicken
1 bag mixed vegetables (I used about 10oz)
1 cup low-fat milk
dash of thyme (or whatever seasoning you have and like)
salt
pepper
1 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp cold water
1 egg white
8 (7 inches each) thawed empanada disks
Directions:
In a skillet over medium heat, cook vegetables.
Then add can of chicken and used a spatula to shred it.
Add seasoning, salt and pepper.
Add milk and bring to a simmer.
In a small dish, mix cornstarch and water and then add to skillet mixing until it thickens. Remove from heat.
In a small dish, mix egg white and 1 tbsp of milk.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place disks on it.
Place about two heaping tablespoons of filler (or divide it out in the skillet 8 ways) on one half of a disk, but not to the edge (you’ll see I didn’t always adhere to that).
Dampen edges with egg wash, fold over to and seal the edges with a fork.
Brush the top with egg wash (that’s what allows it bake crispy brown).
Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, rotating halfway through.
I used a deep glass container and stored eight between pieces of cut parchment paper. This way, each night when I’m packing my lunch, I can pull one out and transfer it to a smaller dish to go into my lunch bag. I’ll pair this with an apple and probably yogurt.
Lunch It Punch It (@LunchItPunchIt)
October 1, 2012 at 3:55 pm{New Post}: Recipe: Chicken Hand Pies http://t.co/MQMSqmJQ
Krista
October 1, 2012 at 5:14 pmWow! Looks yummy. Can you get the empanada halves at Krogers? I think my kids would like it. PS…so organized.
Andi
October 1, 2012 at 10:45 pmI didn’t see them in the frozen food cases, but I didn’t ask at Kroger or Meijer so it is worth checking your local stores. I’ve heard people are successful when they ask stores to carry an item.
I’m looking for some other filling options since these were easy to make and I figured out a way to easily store them.
Lunch It Punch It (@LunchItPunchIt)
October 1, 2012 at 9:52 pmPacked my lunch for Tuesday and it looks a little like Chicken Hand Pies (recipe) http://t.co/MQMSqmJQ
StephanieF
October 1, 2012 at 11:26 pmYou can also use biscuit dough (just roll it out, jumbo biscuits make bigger ones) or pie crust dough to make empanadas.
Andi
October 2, 2012 at 10:41 amGreat idea, Stephanie, thanks for sharing!
I made pizza pot pies from pizza dough, but I’m going to re-visit that recipe with this one and see what I can do for pack lunches…
Tricia @ Take 10
October 3, 2012 at 8:41 amThese look so good and easy! I can’t wait to try them.
erin
October 8, 2012 at 3:53 pmAre you kidding me?! These look amazing! Hand pie! yum. I didn’t even know empanada disks were a thing. A think I NEED! Thanks.
erin
June 23, 2013 at 10:39 amHAND PIES!