Pizza Pockets

With only four more weeks to go (more or less) before Baby Morell makes his/her appearance, I've been trying to cook and bake food to keep in the freezer for quick, easy meals. So far, I've frozen chili, bean soup, lasagna, muffins and loaves of bread. But what is a better quick meal than pizza pockets?? Not the McCain's who-knows-what-they-put-in-there type, but homemade pizza pockets that taste good and are filling. What better idea for those of us who need a meal on the go for ourselves, our kids or significant others? The time invested in the prep is well worth the ease of popping a couple of these babies in the oven and having a delicious meal - no muss, no fuss.

I got this great idea awhile ago from my friend Katie's blog, and have made pizza pockets a few times since then. You can find her original recipe here. I also use her pizza dough recipe - it's so good. Take a look at the rest of her blog for lots of great ideas.

My mom came over and helped me put the pizza pockets together, so we had quite the assembly line going. She was well paid... in pizza pockets. I also threw a few in a bag to bring to my brother who has recently moved out and is starting school (studying Culinary Arts, ironically), and will need quick meals.

Pizza Pocket Recipe

Ingredients:

Katie's Pizza Dough (depending on your ambition, make 2, 3 or 4 times this recipe)

* Allow to rise until double it's size, this makes for a lighter pizza crust.

Pizza topping suggestions:

- hamburger

- sausage

- bacon

- pepperoni

- pineapple

- olives

- sliced tomatoe

- green and/or red pepper

- onion

- cheese (Of course!)

... and the list goes on. I suggest pre-cooking your ingredients so you don't have to worry about them cooking in the oven. This way the filling is ready to eat and just the dough needs to cook.

Directions:

Lay out your ingredients so they are easily accessible and clear a space to roll out your dough. You may need to grease your counter/table a little bit.

Take a small lump of dough - about the size of large plum - and use a rolling pin to roll it out about 1/8 of an inch thick. Slather some sauce on half of the circle, then sprinkle on a combination of toppings. Be sure not to put too much or else the pocket will not close properly. Also, if you get the edges wet, with sauce or anything else, it will not seal easily.

Carefully fold over the non-topping half of the dough and press the edges together to seal. You can use a fork to make the edges even.

Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Allow to cool before you throw them in a freezer bag to freeze.

When ready to eat, thaw the pockets and bake for another 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Voilà!