Friday’s Flavor – Creative Use Of Leftovers!

Friday, February 27th, 2009 at 9:45 am

This is the first edition of Friday’s Flavor! I am sort of experimenting with doing this weekly and hope to encourage myself by logging my creations as well as help out other moms who are looking for more creativity in meal time. At the bottom of the post you’ll see a Mr. Linky. Feel free to link to your own Friday’s Flavor! I’m excited to see what you’ve cooked up!

So, today’s flavor is Creative Use Of Leftovers and I have concoted yet another great leftover recipe.

Mama Pockets!

There has been a lot of talk in the blogging world lately about homemade hotpockets. I got a crazy notion in my head to try them out using my favorite homemade bread recipe and our leftovers.
This was a mighty success! By taking my husbands favorite Honey Wheat Bread recipe and sticking it in my breadmaker on the dough setting easily created a dough to use for my leftover creation!

Here is what I did!

First, you don’t have to use a Wheat Bread recipe. You can use any bread recipe you like. Use a bread maker if you like, or make it by hand. Either way you’ll only want to go as far as the dough.
When the dough is done, turn it out on a floured surface and knead it for a few minutes, adding more flour if it is really sticky and then set it aside. Then re-flour your working area.
You’ll need your rolling pin, a sharp knife, and a fork.
Once you have everything ready, continue by breaking off small bits of dough, about the size of a golf ball or a little bigger. Roll it in your hand until round and smooth. Add more flour if it is too sticky. You’ll want to roll it out in a semi roundish or ovalish shape. You don’t need to be perfect here, just flatten the dough out about as big as a desert plate. When you have that ready go ahead and add in your leftovers. Not too much, you want your pocket to close up well. You may also want to add in some sauce or dressing to make it saucy on the inside. My kids love Ketchup inside them but I put Ranch in these to change things up.Fold the dough over like a taco or an omelet. Do it easy, not stretching the dough too much. Then cut off any uneven dough from around your pouch leaving a nice 3/4 inch rim.With your fork go ahead and push down on the outside edge of your pocket, creating a fancy design and pressing the dough together. You can trim the edges again if you want a more perfect look.
After they are all lined up on the cookie sheet I brush them with a mixture of egg and 2 TBS water. This isn’t necessary but gives the pocket a shiny look.
I baked them at 350 for 15 minutes and then let them sit for 10 on top of the stove. These are very good and you can do so much with them.
Here are some ideas for filling:

hamburger with cheese and ketchup
chicken, broccoli, cheese & rice
left over taco meat, cheese, and sour cream
pizza sauce, pepperoni, & cheese

You can make them all at once and freeze them – they take only 1 1/2 minutes to heat up, or keep the dough in the fridge and make them as you want them.
The possibilities are endless!

These taste way better than store bought Hot Pockets and are much, much healthier for you. Convenience food has never been so good for us!

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What do you do with your leftovers? Have any creative ideas? Use your imagination, write a post about it on your blog, and then link to it below. I’d love to read your leftover ideas! Then, make sure you leave a comment and check out what delicious ideas others have come up with!