Sunday, December 16, 2012

Track your spending on food.

It's hard to know how to cut back on your food budget if you don't know where it is going.  If you count every slurpee run and each time you eat out you might be surprised where it is all going.  I find with myself if I have too much on my plate I have a tendency to do fast food.  Knowing that I can make convenience meals that I can just microwave in a hurry.  Thus taking less time than getting fast food.  One of my favorite make ahead freezer meals is hot pockets.

Dough:
2 tablespoons  active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons oil
5 cups flour

Filling
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cup pasta sauce or pizza sauce
2-3 cups shredded cheese

Use what ever you want.  I used shredded pork and cheese.  I've done ham and cheese.  Pepperoni and olives.  The combinations are unlimited.

To make dough:  Mix yeast into warm water until dissolved.  Add sugar, salt, oil and flour.  Mix well
and dump onto a floured surface and knead 3-5 minutes.

To make pizza pockets:  Divide dough into 15-20 pieces.  Roll pieces into balls.  Flatten balls into circles with rolling pin.  Dollop a few tablespoon of filling onto dough circle and sprinkle with cheese.  Fold over and seal tightly.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes.

To freeze cool completely and store in an airtight ziplop freezer bag for up to 2-3 months.

To serve remove desired number of pockets and warm the individually in the microwave for about 2 minutes or until heated through.  I wrap it up in a napkin or paper towel when cooking.  Or if you want to do a bunch at once bake on a cookie sheet at 350 in oven for 20 minutes

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