FIRST THINGS FIRST:
Boil eggs if you don’t already have some hard-boiled.
Chop up the eggs, onions, and olives.

FILLING:
Saute onions and hamburger together. Pour off liquid. Add seasonings to taste. (About a teaspoon of each, but we like it with a little extra cumin.) Take off heat and add olives and eggs. Let cool.

PASTRY:
Mix flour, sugar, and 1 T. salt together. Cut butter into dry mixture like pastry dough. Roll dough thin. Cut 3-4 inch circles (roughly the size of a shortening can lid). Place a spoonful of filling in the center of each circle with a cube or grated cheese. Sparsely wet 1/2 of the edge of the dough with water. (So it will stick together.) Fold over and pinch edges closed with a fork or fingers.

COOKING OPTIONS:
Bake in pan at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
OR
Deep fry only until light brown in oil 380-400 degrees.

Makes about 30 empanadas.

Can be refrigerated or frozen and reheated later, and they’re just as good as fresh! (They seriously are, and I’m not one for leftovers!)