Chop! Chop! Chicken Pockets

Puff pastry is one of those things that I steered clear from for years. Delicate pastry that you don’t want to work with too much or let get too warm lest it lose all of its wonderful puff? Yeah, no thanks. Sounds a little delicate to me.

Happily, I decided at some point to give it a try and discovered that it’s not the scary thing that I thought it was. In fact, it’s it’s a little bit of a miracle product… turning even mundane things into something special. After all, what doesn’t look and taste better when it’s accompanied by fluffy, flaky, buttery pastry? Exactly.

Of course, you can make your own puff pastry if you’re feeling adventurous. I’ve seen the videos… that’s somewhere I’m not ready to go yet. After all, I’m still trying to get my pie dough to come out consistently. So, I’ll be sticking with my perfectly fine puff pastry out of a box from the freezer section of my local grocer. You decide what works for you.

So. Why puff pastry? Because Ben mentioned it. Not only did he mention it, he attached a Food for Plastic challenge to it. We all know how I feel about challenges… and who can’t use a little more Tupperware in their life? And so, I present you with Chop! Chop! Chicken Pockets. (Cheesy name… I know… I couldn’t help myself.)

But, you see, the name serves dual purpose. Not only are these little dinner pockets easy to put together (as in “go fix dinner… chop! chop!”), but they’re also filled with all sorts of little bits of chopped ingredients. Still lame? Yeah, I thought so. But tasty! And pretty, too. (You could also make these smaller and serve them as two-bite appetizers at your next party!)

Chop! Chop! Chicken Pockets
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 cup crimini mushrooms
1 cup broccoli florets, halved
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3 tabelspoons cream cheeses
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
1 sheet prepared puff pastry, just thawed
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove one sheet of puff pastry and set aside to thaw.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Once hot, add chicken and sauté until almost cooked through. Reduce heat slightly and add mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms have released most of their moisture, about 2-3 minutes. Add broccoli and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Add seasoning and cream cheese and cook until cream cheese has melted and coats entire mixture. Remove from heat and set aside.

Once puff pastry is thawed, carefully unfold the sheet onto a lightly floured surface. Press together any areas where the folds may have torn. Cut out two large squares (approx. 7-8 inches, depending on how big you want your pocket) from the pastry sheet, saving the excess puff pastry for other uses.

Place 4-5 tablespoons of the mixture into the center of each puff pastry square and top each with half of the shredded cheddar.

Brush the edges of each pocket with the beaten egg. Fold the corners to the center and seal by pressing the seams together with your fingers. Transfer to a baking sheet and brush tops with egg wash. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. (serves 2)

Oh, and wondering what do do with those leftovers? The easy answer is to just bake them up on a cookie sheet and make impromptu Napoleons, which is exactly what we did.