First I started with the dough. I use King Arthur's Flour pizza dough recipe. I use half White Whole Wheat flour for added fiber/nutrition and it makes a great crust!
I made a double batch of dough since I wanted to have enough for dinner the next night. I let it rise and double in size. Then I punched it down. I put half of the dough (1 recipe's worth) in a bowl covered with plastic wrap then put it in the fridge until the following night.
Bread Sticks
I divided the dough in half and rolled it out into 2 thin rectangles that I laid onto well olive oiled cookie sheets. You want to use plenty of oil under the dough since that will help crisp the bottoms.Then I used a pizza cutter to slice the dough into strips. I left the ends attached for no other reason but that my pizza cutter wouldn't reach into the corners.
Leave the pans in a warm place to let the dough rise a bit (~30 mins). See how the dough is a bit puffy?Put the breadsticks in a 400* oven for 6 minutes. Take the pan out, brush the breadsticks with butter and top them however you like.
I topped some of these breadsticks with garlic salt and some with shredded cheese.Return the pan to the oven for another 6-8 minutes or until the edges are nicely browned.
Yum!
These breadsticks beat the pants off of any I've had before. 
The next night I grabbed the remaining dough from the fridge and also made a filling of ground beef and sauteed carrots, parsnips, and onions. I seasoned it with Worchestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. I added a bit of red wine to moisten it but you could use chicken broth. You want it moist but not soupy.
I divided the dough into 4 pieces and rolled each into a large oval. I rolled the dough pretty thin.
Fold the dough over and fold up the sides pressing down to fully seal in the filling.
Yum!
These breadsticks beat the pants off of any I've had before. Homemade Hot Pockets
I wasn't really sure what to call these but Hot Pockets sounded about right. If there's a real name for them, please let me know.
I wasn't really sure what to call these but Hot Pockets sounded about right. If there's a real name for them, please let me know.
The next night I grabbed the remaining dough from the fridge and also made a filling of ground beef and sauteed carrots, parsnips, and onions. I seasoned it with Worchestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. I added a bit of red wine to moisten it but you could use chicken broth. You want it moist but not soupy.
I divided the dough into 4 pieces and rolled each into a large oval. I rolled the dough pretty thin. Pile the filling on one half of the dough leaving a border around it.
Fold the dough over and fold up the sides pressing down to fully seal in the filling. Put the pockets into a 400* oven for 20-25 minutes or until they're golden brown.
You can see that I made half sized pockets for the kids by taking one of the dough balls and dividing it in half again. They actually didn't get to eat them because we had to go get their H1N1 boosters after work and dinner was pretty late. They had to settle for yogurt, toast, and applesauce. Not that they minded, it's one of their favorite meals.
This was so delicious. The bread was crispy on the top and bottom but the puffy seams were perfectly chewy. The filling was nice and hot. Jon kept eyeing my plate to see if I was going to leave him any of mine. He was thrilled to take leftovers to work today.
You can see that I made half sized pockets for the kids by taking one of the dough balls and dividing it in half again. They actually didn't get to eat them because we had to go get their H1N1 boosters after work and dinner was pretty late. They had to settle for yogurt, toast, and applesauce. Not that they minded, it's one of their favorite meals.
This was so delicious. The bread was crispy on the top and bottom but the puffy seams were perfectly chewy. The filling was nice and hot. Jon kept eyeing my plate to see if I was going to leave him any of mine. He was thrilled to take leftovers to work today. .
The great thing about these hot pockets is that you could fill them with just about anything. You could make one with chicken, ham and cheese, veggies and cheese, etc. The options are only limited by your culinary imaginations. I plan to try a dessert version by sweetening the dough slightly and putting fruit inside as if to make a pie.
.
.
We'll see what I can cook up with next week's dough.
