Homemade Hot Pockets

At our house, hot pockets are something that we rarely buy, (unless on sale at a price cut so low I can't pass it up).  We consider them a quick Saturday lunch, or my husband will have one in his lunch, (about twice a year), when I forget to plan leftovers for him to carry.  We don't purchase them very often, because they are expensive, full of products we can't pronounce, and they usually sit in the freezer for months before we get around to eating them.  One day, I got to looking at a package in our freezer, and thought, "these are basically just a biscuit wrapped around filling.  I can make several of these for 1/4 the cost of one box".   And so began the trial and error to come up with my homemade hot pockets.  This recipe will give you 8 hot pockets, for the cost of 1 box at the grocery store.  Today, I am going to make Broccoli and Cheese with Chicken Hot Pockets

You will need:
1 can of large sized biscuits, (usually called grand sized and there are 8 in a can)
1 12 oz package of chopped broccoli
butter
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup milk
2 Tabs flour
2 cups shredded chicken
dried parsley flakes
garlic powder
salt and pepper

First you need to make a basic broccoli cheese sauce.  In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter.

Add 2 Tablespoons of flour.  Cook the flour for a couple of minutes, to remove the flour taste.

 Add 1 cup of milk.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper and 1 teaspoon of salt, stir and continue cooking until the mixture starts to thicken.

Once the mixture has started to thicken, add the shredded cheese, and continue stirring until the cheese melts.

Continue stirring until the sauce is smooth.  Remove from heat.

 Add the broccoli, and stir into the cheese sauce.
You now have a basic broccoli cheese sauce.  This is good just like this to serve as a side dish.


NOTE:  if you are using frozen broccoli, first you will need to defrost the broccoli and drain of all water.  You can also use fresh cooked broccoli.  

In a small bowl, melt 4 Tablespoons of butter

Add 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of dried parsley flakes.  Stir to incorporate.


Now, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Separate the biscuits, and roll each biscuit into a 6 inch round.  Layer your chicken on half of the biscuit.

Note:  I started with 1/4 of a roasted chicken, This gave me more than enough chicken to get 2 cups of shredded chicken.  Plus, I then used the bones to make chicken stock while I was making my hot pockets.  So the next time I need chicken stock, I will just go to the freeze and have homemade stock, for free.

You could substitute canned chicken if you don't have a roasted chicken.

On top of the shredded chicken layer about 2 heaping Tablespoons of broccoli cheese sauce.

Pull top half of the biscuit over the filling and bottom half of the biscuit.

 Now seal the edges well, so the filling doesn't leak out.

NOTE:  if you have a good biscuit recipe, you can also take the time to make your own biscuits, (which will cut the costs and increase the flavor even more).

Sealing the edges can be done with your fingertips, the edges of a fork, or even rolling the edges of the dough over.  I just press the dough with my fingertips and it seals nicely.

 Brush the top edge of the biscuit with the melted butter mixture.  Place the biscuit on the cooking sheet, BUTTERED SIDE DOWN.

 Brush the top side of the biscuit with melted butter mixture.  Now both sides of the biscuit are coated with the butter mixture.

Once you have all your biscuits completed, bake in oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.


NOTE:  if you plan on freezing your hot pockets and reheating them for later use, only cook them for 15 minutes.  You don't want to get them too brown.  Then when you re-cook them they will continue to brown.

 As you can see, I used all the butter mixture and all the shredded chicken.

 I have just a small amount of broccoli cheese sauce leftover.

 This broccoli cheese sauce will be a nice side dish in my husband's lunch.  So into the refrigerator it will go.

 It's been 20 minutes and the hot pockets are done.  I have removed them from the oven and from the baking sheet.  They are cooling for a few minutes on a baking rack.  I wish you could smell how good they are!

Here is the inside of one.

Notice how much MORE filling there is than the store bought brand!

AWW, man - that's good.  Nice and cheesy with lots of chicken.  These are going to be a nice quick lunch.

Since I baked mine the full 20 minutes, when I reheat them, I will put them in the microwave for just a couple of minutes, (not the oven, I don't want them to brown any more).

You can change up your filling.  Try a marina sauce with some sausage, or pepperoni, or peppers.  Anything you like can be made into a hot pocket, even potatoes and vegetables.

Let me know what kind of hot pockets you made.  ENJOY !

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

Most of the county is experiencing a lot of snow, and there's nothing better than staying inside and enjoying a bowl of warm soup, (especially if you just came in from shoveling!).   Thirty-some odd years ago, I worked with a young mother who said the only way her kids would eat any kind of vegetable was to melt cheese and pour it over the top.  I told her to take that concept one step further and make soup.  I then told her how I make this cheesy vegetable soup for my son.  The next day, Kelly came into work and declared that for the first time her 2 kids each ate 3 bowls of vegetable soup for supper.  Here's how I make my cheesy vegetable soup:

You will need:
1 pound of potatoes, (more or less)
3 - 4 carrots
1 medium/small onion
2 garlic cloves
2 celery stalks
1 Tabs butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
4 - 5 ounces cheddar cheese, (shredded)
1 cup chicken stock (homemade or canned)
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 teas dried oregano

scrub and chop potatoes into small bite sized pieces, (you don't need to peel, unless you want to).

Scrub and chop carrots into bite size pieces.

Scrub and slice celery into 1/4 inch slices.

Into a large sauce pan, combine potatoes, celery, and carrots.

Add chicken stock and 1 cup water.  (note:  I am using chicken stock from my homemade chicken noodle soup recipe).  Cook over medium heat.  Don't forget to season with salt and pepper, (about 1 teas each).

While vegetables are cooking, chop the onions and garlic.

In a sauce pan, (over medium heat), melt the butter.  Add and cook the onions and garlic, until translucent.

Drain the vegetables, reserving  1 cup of the broth from the cooked vegetables

Add the flour to the cooked onions and garlic, cook the flour mixture, (stirring often), for 2 -3 minutes).

The onion mixture will have a nice golden color.

Slowly add the milk and stir into the flour onion mixture.

Stir cooking until mixture starts to thicken.

Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese.

Stir the cheese sauce.

Note:  This cheese sauce is a basic macaroni and cheese recipe sauce.

Slowly add the 1 cup of stock from the vegetables into the cheese sauce to loosen up the sauce.

Pour the cheese sauce over the cooked vegetables.  Add the oregano.  Stir to evenly coat.

Now taste for seasoning, (does it need a little more salt or pepper?).

Tonight, I'm serving my cheesy vegetable soup with a salad and a slice of homemade bread.  YUMMY.

You can change the vegetables up and use whatever you happen to have on hand.  This soup doesn't last long in our family.  And the next day, it's even better.  (If it's a little thick the next day, just add a little water as you heat it up).

Enjoy.

Fettuccine with a Garlic Cheesy sauce

This is a quick, easy dinner that you can easily use chicken or shrimp to make it a full meal.
First let's get a large pot with 3 quarts of salted water boiling for your fettuccine noodles.

You'll need the following items:

about 1- 1/2 cups of cooked chicken or shrimp
(I had some leftover from a previous dinner)
8 oz package of cream cheese
1 stick of butter, (1/2 cup)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I like to use both shredded and dried, mixed together)
3 gloves of garlic (or to taste)
1 teas olive oil
3/4 cup milk
8 oz dry fettuccine noodles

While the water is coming to a boil, chop your garlic

cup the cream cheese in chunks

cut the chicken, (or shrimp), into pieces

In a saute pan, with 1 teas of olive oil, cook your garlic until softened

Add to the cooked garlic, the cream cheese, butter, and milk.  Stir just until the cream cheese is starting to melt.

 By now your water is ready for the fettuccine noodles.  Cook noodles per package directions.

 Now, add the Parmesan cheese to sauce mixture, stirring until smooth.

Add your chicken, (or shrimp) and cook till meat is heated through.  Your noodles will most likely be done or almost done.

Drain your noodles, put them back into the pot and add the sauce mixture and stir until noodles are well coated.

There you have it.  Add a green salad and a vegetable side dish and you have a complete meal.  And it's so delicious, even the next day.

Let me know how you changed it up to make it your own family favorite.