The Kitchen Door

I made homemade hot pockets for dinner.  They were delicious and oh so much better than the frozen, mass produced, preservative laden things for sale in the freezer isle.

I just played with the filling in order to use up some leftover ham I had and to use some spinach that was looking a little wilty. Please feel free to play with the recipe and make it your own.

Chicken and broccoli would be wonderful in this, or a pizza pocket or a taco pocket, or even a breakfast pocket. Mike really enjoyed them.  I’m thinking next time I will double the recipe and freeze some so that we can have the convenience of a “hot pocket” without all the guilt.  Hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Here’s a little “Hot Pocket” humor to make you smile, especially now that you can make your own far superior Hot Pockets at home.  :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-i9GXbptog

Cheesy Ham and Spinach Hot Pockets

Makes 4 Turnovers

The Ingredients

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
• 1 cup of spinach
• 1TBS unsalted butter
• 1 TBS flour
• 3/4 c half & half
• 3 oz cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/8 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves chopped (or 1/4 tsp dried)
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup diced ham
• 1 well beaten egg

The Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 F.

1. In a small amount of olive oil over medium heat, wilt the spinach. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour. Cook the flour while stirring for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the half & half. Cook while stirring until thick & bubbly. Turn the heat to low & whisk in the cheese. Once the cheese is melted in, stir in the mustard & thyme. Season with salt & pepper. Stir the spinach and ham into the sauce.
3. Using a rolling pin, roll the puff pastry dough out to make it into a little bigger rectangle. Cut into 4 rectangles. Brush a little beaten egg onto two sides of each rectangle. Put 1/4 of the sauce into the middle of each rectangle. Fold over & press the edges together to seal (you may need to stretch the dough a little). Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush each turnover with beaten egg. Use a sharp knife to poke 2 or 3 slits in the top of each.
4. *Learn from my mistake moment: I overstuffed them and so I had a hard time crimping the edges and some of my stuffing oozed out during baking.  I'm not complaining, the sight hot bubbly ham and cheese made Mike eager to dig in.
5. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350 and bake another 10 - 15 minutes until golden brown. Let cool a few minutes before serving as the filling will be really hot.

 

By: The Kitchen Door

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