10 Minute Ham and Cheese Pastry Pockets by Cleo Coyle #Baking up #Leftovers

Got leftovers? Here's a great use for them.
It takes only 10 minutes to assemble these quick
and easy pastry pockets. Slip them in the oven
and you've got a fast, hot lunch or tasty snack.

Many cultures have some form of pastry pocket or another in their culinary heritage from the Cornish pasty to the Spanish empanada and Haitian Creole pate. 

This is my favorite way to make a pastry pocket fast. The folks at Pillsbury invented it, and I'm using their buttermilk "Grands" large refrigerator biscuits for the recipe today. You can use any brand, but these are very good. Marc, my husband (and partner in crime-writing) also likes their "Southern Style" Grands.

As for your fillings, they can be a combination of almost any type of leftovers. After this busy holiday week, I suspect many of you have them!

Scratch Pastry? 
We've got that...

If you prefer to make your own pie crust from scratch, then check out my recipe for Blueberry Hand Pies by clicking here. I use yogurt in my hand pie crust for a nice flavor. The dough is also sturdy enough to hold up to being stuffed and baked. One note: if you're using this recipe for a savory filling, like today's ham and cheese, simply leave out that little bit of sugar in my ingredient list. 

Culinary mystery author
Cleo Coyle writes The
Coffeehouse Mysteries
Learn more by clicking here.

And now...

Your mission, should you
choose to accept it, is to open
the fridge and find those leftovers...

To download a free PDF document of this recipe that you can print, save, or share, click here. 

1. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. Next dice up your ham and shred some sharp cheddar cheese. (Marc and I like sharp because it stands up to the ham and brings lots of flavor.)

2. Lightly coat a length of aluminum foil with a non-stick cooking spray. In my photo, you see Pam, but any neutral-tasting spray will work fine.

3. Open your can of large refrigerator biscuits. In my recipe today I'm using Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk biscuits (8 large biscuits in each container).

4. Tease apart each large, thick biscuit into two thin layers. Each layer will serve as a dough disc to flatten and fill. (In other words, 8 large biscuits will give you 16 pastry pockets.)

5. Use a juice glass to roll out the biscuit layers into flat, even circles. (No rolling pin needed, huzzah!)

6. Place a small dab of mustard in the center of each dough circle. Use the back of a spoon to spread it evenly over the entire surface, as shown below. 

Marc and I like deli mustard for our pastry pockets (our favorite brand is whole grained Boar's Head). You might prefer honey mustard or a Dijon mustard. If you don't like mustard on your ham and cheese, use a condiment you do like or just go naked.

7. Now fill the pastry with your diced ham and shredded cheese combo (or whatever leftovers you've prepared).

8. Fold over the dough circle to form the pastry pocket (as you see in my photos below). Use your fingers to fold over and press the edges closed. Use fork tines to press down and secure.

9. Lightly brush the tops of the pastry with an egg wash (an egg that's been whisked well and thinned out with just a few drops of water). 

10. Create a steam vent by using a pair of sharp kitchen shears, as shown below. Snip the top of the pocket pastry in one or two places.

11. Carefully slide the aluminum foil from your counter to a baking pan and bake in a well-preheated 350 degree F. oven for 15 to 18 minutes, and...

Click here for
free recipe PDF.

Eat with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author of

The Coffeehouse Mysteries

Yes, this is me, Cleo (aka Alice). 

Friend me on facebook here.

Follow me on twitter here. 

Visit my online coffeehouse here.

To view the
Coffeehouse Mystery
book trailer, click here.

 

Now a National
Bestseller in Hardcover

Billionaire Blend: 

A Coffeehouse Mystery 

*Starred Review* -Kirkus

"Top Pick"  -RT Book Reviews

"...a highly satisfying mystery."
-Publishers Weekly

See the book's
Recipe Guide
by clicking here.

* * * 

Coffeehouse Mystery

Free Title Checklist

(with mini plot summaries)

click here.

The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling

works of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark

Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the

13 titles includes the added bonus of recipes. 

* * * 

Haunted Bookshop
Free Title Checklist, 

click here.

A Favorite and a Fond Farewell

Here's one of my family's go-to appetizer choices. A true favorite. I originally got this from Pampered Chef, but we've (you guessed it) adapted it just a little bit. It's absolutely delicious!

You'll need:

1 can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (I've used store brands and they just don't perform as well for this recipe. Too oozy. Pillsbury delivers consistent results.)
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp dillweed
Veggies, cut up. I used broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, and a bit of onion (Onion only on half. Though my hubby loves onions, they don't love him.)

Pampered Chef tells you to bake this on one of their stones, but my last one broke years ago. I use insulated cookie sheets/jelly roll pans and have had great results.

Unroll the crescents onto baking pan and press/pinch together to form one big sheet. Actually, I think Pillsbury sells them in sheets like this now. They must have realized how many fun uses we've come up with for their crescent dough!

Bake this sheet in a 350 F oven according to package directions, or until it's slightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool.

While it's cooling, cut up your veggies into smaller than bite-sized pieces. Speaking of Pampered Chef, remember that crinkle cutter I told you about? The one I originally thought would be useless, but now love? Well, here it is in action:








Combine cream cheese, mayo, and dill. Spread on baked and cooled crust. Cover this with your cut up veggies. Refrigerate for best taste. Cut into small squares for serving.

Try this once and you'll make it for every event! Really!

That's one of my family favorites. Now it's time for the fond farewell...

It has been my great privilege to be part of this spectacular blog for the past two years. I've made some wonderful friends here, and I know I was the luckiest girl in the world when Krista and Avery approached me about participating.

The past two years have been full of fun and learning. Full of laughs and such a wonderful sharing of not only recipes, but milestones and successes. The reason this blog is so great though, is not just because those of us posting show up everyday to chat, but because of all of you... the readers, the community of Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. I cannot thank you all enough for cheering us on when we have new books released, for sharing your stories of personal triumphs and trials (both in the kitchen and out), and for simply being our friends. 

It is with sadness (though sadness warmed by memories!) that I'm leaving the blog. Today is my final post. Life has gotten busier rather than calmer. I know so many friends who are able to produce two books per year and still keep the homefires burning, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to do so. I will miss you all. Very much. 

But who's taking over this Friday spot? That's the good news! Sheila and MJ will share Fridays and while Wendy will be here most Saturdays, we have a brand new chef joining the kitchen once a month. The funny and vivacious Ellery Adams is very excited to be sharing her wonderful recipes and stories with you. You're going to adore her. We do!

I hope to pop in from time to time, and maybe even guest post now and then. I truly love this sanctuary on the Internet. We sure have fun here, don't we?

Thank you all for all your wonderful support! I am forever grateful,

Love,

Julie

Chili Cheese Dip - Vegetarian style

I'll bet lots of you have made Chili Cheese Dip for casual parties. We put this one together all the time, especially when the kids are entertaining. Easy, fun, tasty. And it can be assembled ahead of time and heated up in the microwave when it's time to serve.

Sunday was Academy Awards night and all three girls were home. That doesn't happen too often, but the promise of everyone's favorite snacks was probably too good to pass up. We had Buffalo wings, cucumber sandwiches, pizza rolls, popcorn, egg rolls, caprese flatbread, kiddie cocktails (the girls still love it when Dad makes these), little hot dogs in Pillsbury roll up croissants (my particular favorite) and today's feature - Chili Cheese Dip.

This is not usually a vegetarian option, but we needed something to share that we all loved and kept veggie-daughter happy. So we adapted this to suit. And it worked out great!

First, for those of you who have never made this before, the regular recipe:

Chili Cheese Dip

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese

1 can Hormel Chili (no bean)

8 oz shredded cheddar

1 bag of Tostito chips

I use a glass pie plate for this dish and it's perfect.

Spread cream cheese in the bottom of pie plate

Cover with chili

Cover with shredded cheddar

Heat in microwave until the cheddar is melted. Serve with chips.

Yep, it's that easy.

For our veggie version, I substituted Meal Starters crumbles for the chili. I "browned" the crumbles in a saucepan with a little water (you have to get the crumbles to 165 degrees, according to pkg directions), and then added McCormick brand Chili seasoning. Once this was sufficiently mixed and warmed, I spread it over the cream cheese and continued with the directions above. The taste is different than the original version's but it was good on its own, nonetheless.

Avery was right - busy week here. I'm catching up from being out of town and I don't think I'm even halfway back to normal yet!

In the meantime, congratulations are in order!

The winner of our Cookie Cutter contest is

Danica Rice!

Congrats, Danica! Have fun with your prize!

Also, our very own Jenn McKinlay just had a new book released. Sprinkle with Murder is in bookstores near you - I just picked up my copy this past Saturday. Can't wait to start reading.

And don't forget Jenn's cupcake contest! If you’d like to win cupcakes from Crumbs Bake Shop, send us an e-mail at MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com or a comment with your idea of the wackiest cupcake ingredients you can think of.

Enjoy!

Julie

Author of Grace Under Pressure - a Manor of Murder Mystery - coming June 2010

www.juliehyzy.com

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