Ham & Broccoli Hot Pockets

I needed to used up some delicious ham steaks we had in the fridge and I had recently found this recipe, so it was perfect. These were delicious, it's best to think of the cheese as a sauce rather than a thick velveeta like filling. Kalvin wanted it to be thick like velveeta, but I thought it was perfect as a sauce.

 
Ham and Broccoli Hot Pockets 
                                                           
Finding Joy in my Kitchen


Makes 8-10 pockets

Dough
1 C really warm water
1 tsp. honey
1 T yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 C white whole wheat flour

Filling
1 1/2 C diced ham
1 1/2 C broccoli florets, chopped
Spinach, chopped
4 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 1/2 C milk
1/8 C chicken broth
3 T flour
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
dash cayenne powder


Prepare dough by dissolving the yeast in the warm water, add a little sugar to proof the yeast.  Allow this mixture to sit for ~1 minute.  Then, add in the honey, salt and olive oil.  Using your mixer, mix in the flour.  Knead about 5 minutes until smooth.  Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes or as long as it takes while you prepare the filling ingredients. 

Saute the veggies and ham together until warmed. I just steamed the broccoli a little bit.  Then, set aside.  

Combine the chicken broth (I just used water) and flour in a measuring cup.  Whisk until flour and broth are smoothly mixed together.  

Add the broth and flour mixture to a saucepan.  Heat over medium heat, stirring until mixture just begins to thicken.  Then, add in the milk and seasonings (all my seasoning measurements are approximate because I just throw it in there without measuring.)

Stir until mixture thickens.  Then, remove from the heat.  Add in the cheese.  

As the heat from the dish melts the cheese, you may need to add a bit more milk to increase the liquid nature of the sauce.  I didn't have to.

 

At this point, divide the dough into 8-10 pieces, and roll/press each out into a circle.  

Place ~1- 1 1/2 C filling on half of the dough circle. I didn't combine all the filling ingredients, instead I just put a little bit of each filling ingredient on the dough.

Then fold the dough over the filling and use a fork to seal.  

Bake in a preheated oven at 400 for 10-12 minutes until pockets are lightly browned.  

The sauce before adding the cheese. The steamed broccoli in the back

Cheese

Kalvin chopping the ham

The filling.

Ready to go in the oven.

Done. With a broccoli stem sticking out.

Yum.