Surprise Pockets

Another one of the blogs that I like to read is Cooking During Stolen Moments. She has some pretty good recipes on there!

This is one that I thought would be definitely worth trying. Her title was Ham & Cheese pockets, but we used a variety of cheeses & meats. I tried marking each pocket, but they didn't always hold. So... these are now Surprise Pockets!

Surprise Pockets
(Cooking During Stolen Moments)


1 Tablespoon yeast
1 Cup warm water, divided
1 Teaspoon sugar
1/4 Cup melted butter, cooled to room temperature
2 1/2-3 Cup flour
1 1/2 Teaspoon salt
ham, chopped
Pepperoni
colby jack cheese
cheddar cheese, shredded
2 Tablespoon butter

Instructions:
In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Stir in the sugar and let sit for 5 minutes. Pour in the melted and cooled butter and the remaining warm water.
Add 2 c flour and the salt. Mix for 2 minutes. Work as much remaining flour as needed to make a dough that is smooth but not sticky. Knead on a floured surface or continue beating about 10 minutes. Add a bit more flour if the dough starts to get sticky while kneading.
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Let rise for 1 hour. Punch dough down, cover and let rise for at least another 30 minutes.
Divide dough into 12 evenly sized balls. Roll out into a circle about 6 minutes in diameter. Place some meat/cheese in any combination on one half of the dough. Fold remaining half over the top. Pinch close and then seal with the tines of a fork. Repeat until done.
If desired, brush melted butter over each pocket.
Bake at 375 for 12-18 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

To freeze, cool completely and place as many as will fit into a gallon-sized plastic freezer bags. To reheat, warm in the oven or microwave. Or, simply eat once thawed.

Serves: 12

Opinions: Good! Definitely would do again, next time will try to work on marking it better.


As always--comments are appreciated!

Back again-with Cheesy Ham & Potato Casserole!

This time, my 'disappearance' from blogging was for legitimate reasons, I promise! Nate & I recently moved, and this time it was a lot harder than the move from one apartment to another! We are now renting a cottage, and when we moved some of our things in, we also had to move some of their things (dishes etc) out to storage. Not fun. And, I am super particular about how things should be packed.

Not that it was that beneficial--two of my Great-Grandma's fine china dishes still broke. :( Which was pretty devastating, but I have no one to blame but myself. Which is precisely why I insisted that I be the one to pack those---no being mad at Nate!

We are (essentially) moved in now, just finishing up the organizing/cleaning, so hopefully I will have some more time now to type up the recipes I've been hoarding and get them on here!

And I will apologize now for all the recipes without pictures... the camera was MIA off & on during all of this!

Cheesy Ham & Potato Casserole
(Home Cooking)

24 Ounce package golden round potatoes or hash browns
21.5 Ounce cream of mushroom soup
2 Cup diced cooked ham
1 1/2 Cup milk
2 Tablespoon butter
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon chopped onion
8 Ounce cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions:
Place potatoes, mushroom soup, ham, milk, butter, salt, and onion in slow cooker and turn on low. Cook for 4 hours. Before serving, add cheese until melted.

Serves: 6-8
Prep Time: 5 m
Cook Time: 4 h
Total Time: 4 h 5 m


This turned out very soupy, which may have had something to do with the fact that I used frozen hashbrowns. I would not recommend that--at least thaw them before using!
Nate isn't fond of the ham/cheddar taste, so I probably wouldn't make this again. Otherwise, if it weren't for the soupy-ness, I would say this has quite a bit of potential.

As always... comments are love!!

Ham-Stuffed Jumbo Shells

I've never made stuffed shells before, so this was interesting to me. As usual, I thought it had too much green pepper in it... I still haven't learned to like that stuff. :)

Probably wouldn't make this again--Nate wasn't fond of the green pepper-ham combo. Otherwise, I thought it was pretty good. Just need some alterations for next time! Cut out the green pepper, replace with something else maybe.

Ham-Stuffed Jumbo Shells
(TOH)


12 jumbo pasta shells
1 1/2 Tablespoon all purpose flour
1 Cup milk
1/4 Pound fresh mushrooms, chopped
1/4 Cup chopped onions
1/4 Cup chopped green pepper
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 Cup cubed fully cooked ham
1 Cup shredded 4 cheese mexican cheese
1 1/2 Tablespoon grated parmesan
1/2 Teaspoon Parsley

Instructions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine flour and milk until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; set aside.
In a large nonstick skillet, saute the mushrooms, onion, and green pepper in oil until tender. Reduce heat; add the ham, 1/2 cup cheese, and parmesan. Cook and stir until cheese is melted. Remove from the heat. Stir in 1/4 cup of the reserved sauce.
Drain pasta, stuff each shell with about 3 tbsp of filling. Place in an 8x8 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with remaining sauce. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with parsley, and remaining cheese.


Serves: 4
Serving Size: 3 stuffed shells
Yields: 12

Calories: 274
Cholesterol: 26 mg
Fat: 7 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Calories From Fat:
Protein: 23 g
Carbohydrates: 30 g
Sodium: 703 mg
Fiber: 2 g

Cheesy Ham Braid...

...in which we learn that I am not very good at making things look pretty. ;)

Cheesy Ham Braid
(TOH)
1 16oz package hot roll mix
1 Cup warm water (120-130)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tablespoon butter, softened, divided
1/2 Cup chopped onion
2 Cup chopped, fully cooked ham
1 1/2 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 Cup Ricotta
Dash Parsley
1 egg white
1 Tablespoon cold water

Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine the hot roll mix and contents of yeast packet. (If you are wondering where the yeast came from, it was part of the hot roll mix box. You must be a first time hot roll mix user too. LOL.) Stir in the warm water, egg, and 1 tbsp butter. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead for 5 minutes. In a skillet, saute onion in remaining butter until tender. Remove from the heat, stir in ham, cheeses, and parsely.
On a greased baking sheet, roll dough into a 15x10 rectangle. Spoon ham mixture lengthwise down the center of dough. On each long side, cut 1" wide strips about 2" into the center. Starting at one end, fold alternating strips at an angle across filling. Pinch ends to seal. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 15 mintues or until doubled.
In a small bowl, beat egg white and cold water; brush over dough. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
(Huh, that really doesn't look like the picture in the magazine...oh, I was supposed to tuck the ends IN?)
Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.



So... what would we do different next time?
1. Don't do ham & cheddar. Maybe ham & mozz?
2. Cut ham smaller! I definitely cut the ham too big! Oops. :)
3. Cut down on ricotta... a lot. Maybe substitute with mozz, at least partially?
4. Try to actually make it look braided. (Which is where the 'not good at making things look pretty' part comes in.)

Overall, it was yummy! Just making changes to make it better for next time!