lunch ideas

One more week and I'll be back to making school lunches again. This year I'll have Abigail and Nathaniel's (only half the time) to make. When I came across this recipe for homemade hot pockets I immediately thought that this would make a great lunch box idea. I've made the recipe twice, both times for supper, and we have never had much for leftovers. So, if you are planning to make these ahead and possibly freeze them, you may want to double the recipe. I also must add that I have not tried to freeze them, but I can't imagine why this wouldn't work.

Homemade Hot Pockets - from Our Best Bites

1 recipe pizza dough

desired fillings (6-8 oz. shaved ham, 4-6 oz. cheddar; or sauteed zucchini (2 small) and red onion (1/4 cup) with 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves added at the end) *Use whatever your family likes I make half zucchini and cheese/half cheese and ham

Prepare the pizza dough.
1 1/2 c. warm (105-115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. whole wheat flour
2-3 1/2 c. all purpose flour

In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.

Add salt and stir. Add 1 1/2 c. flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, depending on the humidity) until dough starts to pull away fro mthe sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger. Knead or process with dough hook for 3-4 minutes.

Spray a glass or metal bowl with cooking spray and place dough in the bowl. Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
Here is my dough and fillings all prepared. I had planned on using ham, but it was a bit slimy, so I opted for a bit of tomato sauce instead. Make sure any cooked fillings have cooled.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out into a rectangle measuring 12 inches by 20 inches. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into 12 equal portions.

With one individual piece of dough, roll out to flatten the dough. Leaving a bit of a margin on the sides, add toppings with the cheese going on last. Fold the left side over the middle and bring the right side to meet the other edge. Make sure all the edges in the middle and ends are sealed and pinched tightly. Otherwise you'll have a cheesy mess all over your pan. Trust me - this happened to me. Tightly roll the filled dough.

Place on a sprayed cookie sheet and repeat with remaining dough. When finished, cover the pan with a clean cloth. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. When oven has heated, bake pockets for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. For shine, you could brush butter on the pockets during the last 5 minutes of baking, or you could rub a little butter on top of the rolls while they're still hot.