Pastelillos De Carne (Baked)

Preheat oven to 350°F and gather all your ingredients. You should also have a few baking sheets lined with parchment paper and ready to go. (The true authentic way is usually fried, you can fry them in vegetable oil till crispy, or continue and bake them as I did.)

In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat and saute the ground beef till it starts to brown. Add in the garlic and sofrito until fragrant.

Next add the lime juice and potatoes, cover , turn to medium low and cook until potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.

Add the Sazon packets along with one cup of water, mix and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Mix contents sporadically.

Next stir in cheese and remove from heat. Allow mixture to cool slightly and transfer to a large bowl.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry discs out just a tiny bit, until they are slightly larger in diameter and thinner.

Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the beef mixture on one side of the pastry disc.

Moisten the edges of the disk with water and fold the disk in half, and turning it into a half moon. Use a fork to crease the edges together.

Transfer pastelillos to a cookie sheet and spray the pastelillos lightly with cooking spray to give them that ‘fry” look and taste.

Bake at 350°f for 35-40 minutes until crispy.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 packages (10 count each package) frozen Goya pastry disks (defrosted) (If you cant find the disks you can use pie crusts)

• 2 lbs of Ground beef

• 12oz Sofrito

• 6 cloves of garlic, minced

• 2 medium sized potatoes, diced into 1/4 inch cubes

• 6 tablespoons lime juice

• 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

• 2 packets of Sazon con culantro y achiote seasoning (Goya brand)

• 1 cup of water

• cooking spray