Monday, September 20, 2010

Chicken and Mushroom "Hot Pockets"


My local grocery store was having a massive sale on canned biscuits recently. Since I'm a crazed coupon user, I was able to score about 10 cans for a dollar or two. Total. That's how I roll! Get it? ROLL! Ha. Needless to say, I have quite the glut of Grands! biscuits in my freezer (did you know you can freeze those tube things? You can. They won't explode. Promise).

After searching recipes on Pillsbury.com, I happened upon one that resembled a homemade chicken Hot Pocket (they titled it Chicken To Go Biscuits, but a) that doesn't make sense, and b) I can call a Hot Pocket when I see one). Speaking of Hot Pockets...that's another Jim Gaffigan comedy bit that I love. I swear this blog is turning into a Jim Gaffigan fanpage. Maybe because all he talks about is food, and that's all I write about...

Let's get started on the Hot Pockets! Sing it with me: "Hooooot Pock-ets!!!".


The ingredients. I made a few small changes I should warn you about - first, I had some sliced raw mushrooms in the fridge, so I just cooked those down really quick in a skillet instead of using the canned ones. Secondly, and more important, I did not use the crushed cornflakes as a breading as the recipe states  - because why? Also: ew! What kind of crazy person decided that cornflakes needed to be used on anything other than a bowl of milk? Cornflakes are kinda sweet too, and I don't want sweet near anything with chicken and/or mushrooms. It would be like coating your Hot Pocket with chocolate chips. Yeah, flippin' gross. The same argument goes for Hawaiian pizza and the insane people who like it. Why not pepperoni and oranges? Sausage and cherries? It's the same idea, you sickos!


Start by melting some butter in a skillet on medium heat, then stir in the flour, salt and pepper. It will quickly start to thicken up.



Dump in the milk, and heat for a minute or so.



Stir in the chicken, cheese, and mushrooms, take off the heat, and set aside. I kept snatching bits of this to eat because well, I'm chubby and I wanted to, so there.


Now take your can of biscuits and open it up. Or, if you're like me, make someone else (AKA my dear husband) do it for you because the anticipation of the can popping open wigs me out. You're going to want to roll out (or just use your hands to press out) the biscuits into a large circle, as large as you can get it. I found it helpful to sandwich the biscuit between sheets of wax paper, and also to do one biscuit at a time - when I rolled out all of the biscuits, by the time I started filling them they reverted back to their tiny normal shape. I even tried "tossing" the biscuits like pizza dough to stretch it out further. Place 1/3 cup of mixture onto the flattened biscuit.


Ugh, I need a manicure. Anyway, start pinching together the ends of the biscuit into a calzone shape. This was kind of a giant pain in the butt, but it got easier with practice.



Then, use a fork to go around the edges to press down and seal again.



Why do my fingers look so pink? Ew. Ahem. Dip the Hot Pocket into egg, then bread crumbs and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.



The final product. I let mine cool, taste tested one of them - it was yummy! Lightyears better than the storebought ones - then put the remainder in a freezer ziploc bag to take to work for lunchies. You can pop these directly from the freezer into the microwave for about a minute and 30 seconds,  or until the middle is molten lava.


Chicken Hot Pockets

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1/2 cup milk
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 1/4 cups (5 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (4 oz.) chopped or sliced drained mushrooms
1 (16.3-oz.) can Pillsbury® Grands!® Refrigerated Buttermilk Biscuits
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 cups cornflakes, crushed (I used a cup of Italian breadcrumbs instead)
Heat oven to 375°F. In medium saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Add milk all at once. Cook about 1 minute until thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken, cheese and mushrooms; set aside.

Separate biscuit dough into 8 biscuits. Roll or pat each into 5-inch circle. Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture on each biscuit circle. Wrap dough around chicken mixture, pressing edges to seal.

Dip rolls in egg, then coat with crushed cornflakes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375°F. for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Source: Pillsbury

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