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.