Six Meals from a $6 Turkey (Part 3 of 4): Stromboli and Bread Pockets

If you’re cooking your way through our Six Meals from a $6 Turkey series, you already have an impressive stash of winter soup in your freezer (or, you’ve made friends with plenty of neighbors!).  Today we’re going to build up our supply of healthy, frozen foods even further with two bread-based meals: Stromboli and Bread Pockets.  These meals are simple to prepare, and will provide a hot and hearty dinner on a busy winter night… all for pennies a serving.  What’s not to like about that?

Ingredients (Makes 1 large, 4 serving Stromboli -and- 2 large, individual size bread pockets)

1 recipe of Simple Bread, prepared through Step 5.  We need the Simple Bread dough for today’s recipes, not fully baked loaves of bread!

4 cups cooked, shredded turkey

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

1/2 cup diced bell pepper (red is pretty, but green is often less expensive and tastes the same)

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

Directions

Step 1) Take a little more than half of your Simple Bread dough, and roll it on a lightly oiled surface into a rectangle.  I made my rectangle of dough approximately 16 inches long and 10 inches wide.  As you can see, it wasn’t a perfect rectangle… and it still turned out just fine.  Don’t stress about the measurements – just make a rectangle.

Step 2) Layer spinach leaves, 2 cups of shredded turkey, diced bell pepper, and 1/2 cup of Monterey Jack cheese in the center of your rectangle, leaving a 1 inch border on all sides.

Step 3) Roll up your Stromboli the long way, to make a long, thin loaf.  To do this, gently lift one of the long sides, and fold it into the center so that the edge of the bread dough is covering half of the turkey filling.  Then, fold in half again so that the other long edge is on the bottom of the loaf.  Fold the short ends under.

Step 4) Place your Stromboli on a large baking pan which has been lightly oiled and sprinkled with cornmeal.  The cornmeal is really useful in preventing bread dough from sticking to the pan!

Step 5) Bake your Stromboli in a preheated, 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Carefully remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.  [Stromboli may be wrapped and frozen whole (when fully cool!), but I prefer to slice the Stromboli into 2 inch slices, and freeze the individual slices.  To reheat, just place the desired number of frozen slices on an oiled baking sheet and set the baking sheet in an oven which has NOT been preheated.  Set your oven to 350 degrees.  When your oven reaches 350 degrees, check your Stromboli – they should be hot and delicious!]

Step 6) While your Stromboli bakes, roll your remaining Simple Bread dough into two circles, approximately 9 inches in diameter.

Step 7) Combine ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, and onion in a medium bowl.  Mix well.

Step 8) Add 2 cups of shredded turkey and 1/2 cup shredded cheese to the sauce mixture, and toss with a fork until combined.

Step 9) Place half of the turkey mixture on each circle, keeping the mixture on HALF of each circle.  Leave a 1 inch border.

Step 10) Fold each empty half circle over the other half, where the turkey mixture is located.  Pinch the edges together to form two sealed, half-circle shaped bread pockets.

Step 11) Set the bread pockets on another baking sheet which has also been lightly oiled and sprinkled with cornmeal.  Let sit until your Stromboli is removed from the oven, then place your bread pockets in the already hot, 375 degree oven.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Step 12) When bread pockets are fully cool, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or foil and freeze.  Reheat the same way you would reheat the Stromboli, as directed above in Step 5.

Join me in two days for one final turkey recipe.  See you then!