Chicken Empadas

Note: The following recipe will be to make a type of empada that is very common in Brazil, but different from the one in this photo. The chicken in this shot was just too good looking to ignore. Enjoy!

Ingredients

The Crust
- 1 Kg, Wheat Flour
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 Kg, Vegetable Shortening
- 1/2 Kg, Creamy Margarine
- Pinch Of Salt
- Bit Of Water
- 1 Chicken Breast
- 1 Clove, Garlic
- 1 Onion
- Seasonings Of Your Preference (Parsley, Salet, Pepper)

Preperaration

The Crust
1.) In a bowl, add 2 eggs, the vegetable shortening, margarine, and mix well
2.) Add the wheat flour, a little water, and salt for taste, mix well
3.) Dough should be very, very thick, add more wheat if necessary
4.) Shape dough into balls (A little bigger than a ping-pong ball), place on tray and leave in fridge for 2 minutes
5.) While the dough firms up, select a tray that will fo for empadas, (a cupcake tray would be good)
6.) Grease the tray, remove the dough from the fridge, use one ball per slot to line the inside
- Set aside a good portion of dough to serve as the covering for each Empada, you will need it after you fill them

The Filling
1.) Bake the chicken breast (make sure to keep it juicy) then shred it
2.) Add a bit of olive oil to a shallow pan, heat up, and simmer 1 clove of chopped garlic and 1 chopped onion
3.) Sauté shredded chicken in garlic and onion
4.) Add parsley, salt, and pepper, to your liking

Putting It All Together
1.) Fill each formed pastry shell with a generous stuffing of the chicken mixture (add some cheese if you like)
2.) Ball up extra dough, flatten and press onto to top of each filled shell
3.) Place in preheated oven (Approximately 275 Degrees) and cook for about 30 minutes, until empadas are golden brown
4.) Let cool, tap out of tray, and enjoy

Sliced Strawberry Dessert

Ingredients:
1 box fresh strawberries
1 can sweet condensed milk

Cooking Instructions:
1.) Thoroughly clean strawberries with water
2.) Slice strawberries into quarters, cutting them lengthwise
3.) Place the sliced strawberries into a bowl
4.) Open the can of sweet condensed milk and add about 1/3 of the can
5.) Mix the strawberries and condensed milk, being careful not to pulverize the fruit
6.) Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled

Grilled Chicken Hearts

Ingredients:
1 package/ 2 pounds fresh chicken hearts
5 large tablespoons chopped garlic
1 cup vinegar
Half cup soy sauce
Black pepper
Garlic salt
Saffron flakes

Cooking Instructions:
1.) Place chicken hearts into a bowl and rinse with cold water
2.) Strain chicken hearts to remove water, leave in bowl
3.) Add vinegar, soy sauce, chopped garlic, and preferred amount of pepper
4.) Allow hearts to marinate for 25 minutes-1 hour in refrigeration
5.) Skewer chicken hearts and place on grill
6.) Rotate skewers constantly and baste remainder of marinade onto skewers
7.) Cook until hearts are dark and fat is lightly crisped (Cooking time depends on grill temperature

Fried Cassava

Ingredients:
1+ raw cassava (yucca)
1 pot of vegetable oil
salt/ garlic salt

Cooking Instructions:
1.) Skin the cassava, exposing the white meat
2.) Slice the cassava and then quarter the slices into bite-size portions
3.) Places cassava pieces in a pot of water and bring to a low boil
4.) Boil until pieces become soft and slightly translucent. They should have the consistency of a baked potato
5.) Strain boiled pieces and place into pot of oil to fry (fry at a high temperature to brown the outside and leave the inside white and soft)
6.) When pieces are golden brown, remove and place on paper towel to cool
7.) Toss pieces with preferred amount of salt/ garlic salt

Pao de Queijo

Ingredients:
1 plate of grated cheese (Parmesan works well, Minas cheese in Brazil)
1 kg cassava starch (flour/ tapioca flour is ok)
8 eggs
2 cups of milk (each approx. 200ml)
1 tablespoon margarine
1 cup of oil
2 teaspoons salt

Cooking Instructions:
1.) Place the flour in a bowl and mix with the salt
2.) Mix milk, margarine, and oil. Bring to a boil
3.) Add flour mixture to boiling mixture
4.) When the dough is cool, add eggs gradually. Knead Thoroughly
5.) Add cheese and knead until dough is smooth
6.) Grease hands with oil and shape dough into balls, add more flour to increase firmness... 
7.) Place balls on cookie sheet and bake at 180-220 degrees Celsius (350-420 degrees Fahrenheit), until golden brown (approx. 30 minutes)
8.) Serve warm