BF Kid Zone: Warm Pocket Sandwiches

Sometimes bad things happen to good food.

Even mine. Especially mine. Which is why this recipe underwent my self-imposed three test batches before I even thought about presenting it to you. And yet…something went wrong. As you can see, one of my pocket sandwiches is gorgeous – slightly browned on the outside, cheese bubbling up out of the vent slits, warm and tasty-looking.

The other? Is not. And rather than hide that fact from you guys, I figured I’d go into a bit more detail about what I think went wrong and how you can avoid it!

First the recipe:

Nik’s Warm Pocket Sandwiches
(with a 1/2 batch of dough, as prescribed below, it makes 2 non-op sized sandwiches, about 3-4 “us” sized ones)

Ingredients:

1/2 batch of Nik’s Carbquik pie crust (note: Atkins Baking Mix works just fine in place of Carbquikin this recipe if that’s what you have)

For the pocket on the right I used: shredded low-sodium, low-fat deli ham + 1/2 c. shredded white American cheese

For the pocket on the left I used: about 7 turkey pepperoni, 1/4 c. low-sugar spaghetti sauce and 1/2 c. pizza blend cheese

Optional: A few sprays of low or no-cal butter spray

Directions:

Cut your dough into two pieces. On a floured surface, roll your dough out into a large rectangular shape. (Mistake #1: I let the dough sit out too long so it kept tearing and I kept re-working it into a ball. I’d stashed the other half of the dough ball back in the fridge. In hindsight, I should have put that one in the fridge for a few minutes as well. Then I proceeded to over flour the dough to prevent it from sticking)

In the middle of your dough, place whatever filling you are going to use. Recommended order: cheese, meat/veggies, sauce, more cheese). Make sure to leave a good amount of the perimeter of the dough untouched so you can fold it properly. (Mistake #2: I put the filling way too close to the edge of the dough and I got a bit heavy handed with the sauce).

Wet your fingertips and run them along the permeter of the dough. Fold the top and the bottom of the dough over and then roll it from right to left (as if you were rolling a burrito or wrap). Wet your fingertips again and pinch the sides of the dough closed and fold them over. (Since my dough was way too warm and too dry, I had cracks in it from the onset).

Bake at 350 for about 12-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown (again, I did this in the toaster ove). Allow to cool before serving.

Ok, so a few observations:

1. This is a recipe I’ve made a gajillion times but only when I have extra dough. While it is cool to say you know how to make your own “Hot Pocket,” the availability of Lean Pockets in the store makes the “from scratch” method a bit less appealing. Your mileage may vary.
2. One appeal of making these yourself is that the stats are way better on them (no, I’m not giving you the stats…but nice try). If you use Carbquik there is TONS of fiber, with Atkins Baking Mix there’s a good deal of protein. If you use a lower-calorie baking spread instead of butter in the dough, you cut down on the fat considerably.
3. Although my pepperoni pizza sandwich was not aesthetically pleasing, La Petite Diva (who got this for dinner) said it tasted amazing. I took a bite. I would have to agree 😉

But in general you want your sandwich to look like this one:

I wish I had a shot of the open sandwich that turned out well but La Grande Diva, in all her pre-pubescent splendor, fell asleep early yesterday evening while I was cooking and didn’t awaken until this morning (after much threatening). When I get that shot, I’ll add it. Until then, play with your food! And if you come up with something good, PLEASE…send it my way! I love to see what you’re cooking.

BF Kid Zone: Warm Pocket Sandwiches

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