What to do with those pesky leftovers

Today I got to do one of my favorite things-cook the day away! One of the things I like to do with our leftovers is make "hot pockets." I really want to come up with a more original name for them, but I haven't come up with anything creative yet.

I like to use the crust recipe I used to make my pot pie. A recipe of dough makes about 8-12 pockets. I quadrupled this recipe today.

All I do is take about a handful of dough and roll it out into a circle (or something close to it). Then I take my filling in put in on one half of the dough and fold the other half over. I then press the dough all around for a good seal. I cut off the excess dough leaving a little extra dough around the edge. Next, I fold the edge and crimp it with a fork to make a better seal. You can make these as big or as small as you want to.

Today, I filled some with my leftover pot pie filling from the night before and added some cheddar cheese for extra goodness.

I also made breakfast pockets for Byron. I scrambled up some eggs (mostly whites & added low fat milk for more substance). I also add about 2 tablespoons of cheddar cheese. I added some proscuitto in a few pockets for a special treat.

I made pizza pockets as well. I cooked up some ground sausage and filled the pockets with pizza sauce, sausage and mozzarella cheese. So yummy. The picture below is a variation on this.

These are what I like to call
"Pizza 2-Bites"

When you have your pockets filled and crimped, you want to cook them right away. I tried freezing them and cooking them when I wanted to eat them, but that didn't work. Cooking it first works the best. I heat up a pan of about a half cup of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add pockets to pan, but don't crowd. Flip to other side when browned. Try not to cook too fast or the crust won't be done all the way through. I then lay some paper towels on a platter and let the pockets cool on the platter.

At this time you can either (1) Put them in freezer bags and freeze them up to a month (2) Put in freezer bags and into the fridge for up to a week (3) Eat them right away!

If you decide to use methods 1 or 2 here is how you reheat. Byron and I have a toaster oven, so this works out great. We put our toaster oven on "bake" mode and turn it to 400 degrees. We cook for about 10-12 minutes. Byron likes to cook his on "toast" mode for few more minutes for some extra crunch.
*Make sure that all your filling is cooked before using it in your pockets.*

Some other ideas:
Apple Crisp Pies: I had some leftover apple crisp a couple weeks ago and filled my pockets with that. When the pockets were done cooking and sprinkled a cinnamon and sugar mixture on top (you have to do this right away so it will stick). This makes a delightful little dessert.
Chili Pockets: I had some leftover chili and filled the pockets with chili and cheese. Yummy.
Turkey & Cheese: I used deli sliced oven roasted turkey, cheddar cheese and frozen broccoli (uncooked). These are a perfect lunch.

*The possibilities are only limited to your imagination*