use & reuse. [smoked turkey, crispy prosciutto, broccoli & cheese empanadas & phyllo cups]

My eco-friendly brothers are always telling me to use what we already have in terms of food. So for once I listened to them.

With leftover smoked turkey and a few crowns of broccoli, my mom and I decided to create a delicious mixture to fill empanadas and phyllo cups. We started with the turkey and broccoli and rummaged through the fridge to find other ingredients to spruce up the mixture. Our fridge offered some leftover crisped prosciutto, a block of Monterey Jack cheese and a sweet yellow onion.

We racked our brains for recipe ideas to use the broccoli, not wanting to simply eat the vegetable plain or make broccoli and cheese soup. After searching online for ideas, we decided to try making empanadas with the leftover puff pastry in the freezer and phyllo cups with the leftover phyllo dough.

To our surprise, our little creations were quite a success. The turkey and broccoli mixture combined with the flakey crust of the pastry dough was delectable. Everyone in our family loved the concoction. If we end up having ingredients such as these leftover again, we will definitely make this recipe!

Filling recipe:

4 broccoli crowns

1 cup prosciutto, crisped

2 cups smoked turkey, shredded

2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded

1/2 large sweet yellow onion, diced

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Steam broccoli until soft, about 7 to 10 minutes. Finely chop broccoli and turkey, then mix in medium bowl with prosciutto.

Dice sweet onion and saute in 1 tbsp. olive oil, about 5-7 minutes on medium heat until translucent. Add onion to broccoli and turkey mixture. Grate monterey jack cheese and add to bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Empanada recipe:

2 sheets puff pastry

1 egg, for brushing

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Let puff pastry thaw to room temperature. Lightly flour pastry dough and roll out until a quarter inch thick. Use a 2 1/2 inch circular cookie cutter to create empanadas.

Once all dough circles are cut, place small amount of broccoli and turkey mixture on one half of circle. Fold other half over and press down the edges. Reinforce edges by crimping with a fork. Cut small air vents at top of empanada, about 1/2 inch long. Brush both sides of empanada with egg wash.

Line finished empanadas on cookie sheet and bake until golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Phyllo cup recipe:

4 sheets phyllo dough

1/2 stick butter, melted

Directions:

Unfold phyllo sheets and cover with damp cloth until ready to use. Place one sheet of phyllo dough on lightly floured Silpat. Delicately brush sheet with melted butter. Place another phyllo sheet on top and proceed to brush with melted butter. Repeat this step two more times.

Use a 2 1/2 inch circular cookie cutter to create phyllo cups. Once circles are cut, take one and place it butter side down in regular sized cupcake tin. Repeat this until all 12 cups are filled with dough. Lightly brush inside of phyllo cups with melted butter. Fill cups to the top with broccoli and turkey mixture.

Cook phyllo cups at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.