Mexi-pockets

It's really a chicken and potato hot pocket.

Total time:  1 hour for prep, plus 1 hour per 10 Mexi-pockets.

For lack of a better term, that’s what I call these little crosses between hot pockets and empanadas. Make them with or without meat, with or without flavor. I do not recommend putting cheese inside of them, as the dough tends to soak it all up.

Keep in mind, all ingredients are optional; I use what I have available.

2 chicken breasts
3 medium russet potatoes, cut into 1/4″ cubes
1-2 poblano peppers, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic
2 habanero or serrano peppers

That’s where I always start. My preference is to put the meat, onions, seasonings and poblano peppers in my crock-pot on low, overnight with two cups of water.

Tonight, I boiled my chicken breasts with a tablespoon of lime juice, then separated and shredded the meat with two forks.

Boil your diced potatoes until they’re tender, but not soft, about 5 minutes. In a skillet, fry your onions and garlic until your onions start to turn clear, about 3 minutes on med-high. You can add any other vegetables or peppers at this time and fry them in the skillet – if you are not using a crock-pot, then I’d definitely fry all of your vegetables before putting them in your mixing bowl.

Place shredded meat and fried vegetables in a large mixing bowl. For potato pockets, we normally do the following for flavor:

1 tablespoon California chili powder (for color!)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
juice of one lime

It's the Empanadalamo!

Add to your vegetable mixture, mix well… or add nothing and use it as is!

I like to scoop my mix into empanada shaped pastries, but you could also just make burritos or lettuce wraps.

Typical accompaniments:
salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, green onions, lime

Try it with:
shredded beef, pork or tofu; black beans, pinto beans, or kidney beans; corn, carrots, peas, cabbage, spinach – frozen, canned or fresh (but not all at once!)

You can place your uncooked hot pockets or empanadas on a cookie sheet and freeze separately, then pile them all up in a freezer bag for later use. Or cook them all at once; they keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer, and they reheat amazingly well (must be the shortening in the dough?).