Stuffed Pepper Pockets

Serves: eight large pockets (8 servings, or enough for 2 to 4 hungry teenagers)

Prepare the dough. I use a bread machine. Add in sequence:

2 tsp active dry yeast
3 ½ cups white flour
1 ½ tsp salt
3 TBSP butter
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup milk (maybe a little more if your bread machine needs it to make the dough soft)

Set the machine for Yeast Dough, and start it off. While that’s mixing, work on the stuffing:

In a large frying pan, fry until tender:

2 cloves garlic, mashed & chopped
½ cup chopped red onion
¾ cup chopped yellow onion
1 TBSP butter

When it begins to get tender, add:

4 strips of bacon, chopped into small pieces.
1 tsp red pepper flakes (pizza peppers)

Cook until bacon is done. Set aside in a large bowl to cool. While that is cooking, mix together:

1 whole red, yellow or orange pepper, chopped fairly small
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 ½ cups of shredded parmesan cheese
1 ½ tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano

When the onion and bacon mix is cool, mix it in with these vegetables in a large bowl.

Deglaze the frying pan with:

1 pound of chicken thighs, chopped into ½” chunks.
1 pound pork sausage
1 TBSP chicken bouillon paste

Set aside to cool (use the bowl that you cooled the bacon & onion mix in). In the frying pan, fry until tender:

2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped, minced or pressed, in
4 TBSP butter.

Assembling the pockets:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Just before assembling, mix into the filling:

4 eggs

Cut the dough into eight equal parts. (Halve it, halve the pieces, and halve those one more time.) On a well-floured board or counter, roll out one piece at a time into a 9” or 10” circle. Place 1/8 of the mix (a generous scoop) off center in the circle, and spread to cover ½ of the dough, leaving ¾” inch around the perimeter uncovered. Moisten the perimeter with water or, if you’re feeling fancy, with egg wash. Seal the edge with those fun little folds that make an apple pie look so cool! Coat the entire top with the garlic butter mix, and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the top is well browned. Let them cool for a couple of minutes, but serve hot.

These freeze and re-heat (microwave or toaster oven) quite well.

Review: This recipe is good; spicy but good. The pockets did fine in the freezer, and came out slightly less spicy, though the texture was a little less solid - the effect of the mushrooms, we think. Next time, I think I'm going to aim for a greater percentage of meat, and more stuffing altogether.

Bob's Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Polish Golabki)

courtesy Bob Holden

Ingredients - Stuffing:
1 – large head white cabbage
1 - pound ground beef
1 - pound ground pork
2 cups steamed white rice (leftovers work great)
1 – small, or ½ large onion, finely diced
3-4 Cloves garlic minced
2 – Raw eggs
¼ Cup minced flat leaf parsley
1 tsp Italian seasoning
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

Ingredients - Tomato Sauce:
1 - can tomato sauce
2 - cans water (rinsing remaining tomato sauce in can)
3 - Tbs white flour (mixed in 1/3 cup cold water)
½ - Cup sour cream
2 – Tbs Veggetta (or vegetable, beef or chicken bouillon)
½ - Tbs garlic powder
1 – Tbs dehydrated onion flakes
1 – Tbs sugar (needed only if sauce is too tart)
3 to 4 – dashes of Tabasco Sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Core cabbage, remove tough outer leaves, and boil covered for about 20 minutes or until just soft and pliable. Shock in ice water to stop cooking and let cool. Drain well, dry, remove leaves and stack on a plate.

Stuffing:
To the ground meat add steamed rice, diced onion, minced garlic, raw egg, minced parsley, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Mix with hands until well blended. Flatten cabbage leaves on a clean plate and fill each with ½ cup each of the mix (or the appropriate amount for the size leaf being filled). Roll up the two sides and from one end roll to the other making a complete roll. Place rolls on a cookie sheet pre-greased with olive oil or butter. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour until the meat is cooked. Let stand in the oven an additional 15 minutes before removing.

Sauce:
In a 3 ½ to 4 quart sauce pan add one can of tomato sauce, two cans of water, and bring to a boil. In a mixing bowl, or glass, add 3 heaping Tbs flour and mix well. Add slowly to boiling tomato sauce and blend with a wire whip until slightly thickened. Ad Vegetta (or bouillon), garlic powder, and onion. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes reducing sauce. Add sour cream and mix well. Add sugar, salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste. In a large covered casserole dish add enough sauce to cover the bottom. Transfer rolls to the dish covering each roll with sauce and serve. Extra sauce should be placed in a gravy boat and served over rolls.

Sausage Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Per Person:
1 large Chicken Breast, thawed, butterfly filleted
2 strips bacon
3 oz sausage, sliced lengthwise
1 oz Irish cheddar cheese, sliced thin
2 TBSP shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp fresh garlic: I like a couple of cloves of fresh roasted garlic, but thin slices of raw garlic is fine.
dried parsley flakes
salt & pepper

Fillet the chicken breast. Season inside and out with salt & pepper. Layer bacon & sausage on one side. Spread Parmesan generously over meat.

Close the chicken breast and place on an oiled sheet. Top with more parmesan cheese and parsley. Bake 18 – 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Review: The success of this recipe depends on the quality of the sausage. Thin sliced anduille from the deli makes this perfect: don't get carried away with it.

Chicken Breasts stuffed with Shrimp & Bacon

Per Person:
1 large Chicken Breast, thawed, butterfly filleted
7 large shrimp: I use the pre-cooked frozen type: do not thaw.
2 strips bacon
1 tsp fresh garlic: I like a couple of cloves of fresh roasted garlic, but thin slices of raw garlic is fine.
1/4 tsp ground paprika
1/8 tsp ground chili powder
1 oz Irish cheddar cheese, sliced thin
1 tsp lemon juice
salt & pepper

Fillet the chicken breast. Season inside and out with salt & pepper. Layer shrimp and bacon on one side. Drizzle lemon juice over shrimp & bacon and cover with garlic and then Parmesan cheese. Season with paprika and (if you like) Cajun seasoning.

Close the chicken breast and place on an oiled sheet. Cook 18 – 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Review: I used to cook these in my George Foreman Grill, but I've been baking them recently, in my toaster oven. I really like the results: juicier, easier cleanup (please bake on tinfoil!), and more tender.