Homemade Pizza Pockets (Or, how I created something that I never want to stop eating)

Today, I tried my hand at making homemade pizza pockets.
They turned out awesome.
(Not to brag, but we couldn't stop eating them!)

Even though a lot of them exploded like this, they were still really yummy.

I got the idea of making homemade pizza pockets from Jane at Adventures in Dinner- her pizza pockets looked SO good! I actually didn't follow the recipe on her blog though, mostly because I didn't have those ingredients on hand. (Sorry Jane!)  I do enjoy reading her recipes and musings- you should check out her blog. Especially if you're looking for some new things to make for dinner. Or dessert. There are some delicious things over there.
I  used this awesome pizza dough recipe  and then just kind of made up my own fillings, using things I already had in the fridge.

I wanted to make some for when we are on our way to the chiropractor, because we eat dinner in the car 2 or 3 times a week and we are determined not to let those times become fast food dinners, but to instead pack food that is healthy (or at least somewhat healthy) and portable.

Pizza Pockets fit the bill perfectly.
The only drawback was that we actually ate almost all of the ones I made for dinner last night, so we have hardly any left to take with us in the car!
Oh, well. Guess that means I just have to make more!

Would you like to make your own pizza pockets??

Here's how:

Get some pizza dough.
Like I said, you can make your own, or use store-bought depending on how much time/inspiration you have.
I used the recipe on the link, which made enough dough for 10 pizza pockets.

Then, figure out what you want to put in your pockets.
I used these things:

Ricotta cheese, Pasta sauce, Mozzarella, Sweet peppers, an egg,
Canadian Bacon, Italian Seasoning and some frozen chopped spinach.

I decided to make a few with  Uncured Canadian Bacon and cheese, and some with sweet peppers and spinach. Then I figured, why not make one with everything in it as well, to see how it turns out?

Mix the ricotta with an egg and some Italian seasonings for extra moistness and flavor.
I accidentally made WAY too much ricotta, and ended up making a casserole with the rest of it.

Roll out your dough into a nice circle.

Use a little bit of sauce, then a little bit of ricotta. You should probably use less than you think you need. :) Notice the first picture of the exploded pocket!!

Then, add your fillings.

Canadian Bacon, cheese

Spinach, Sweet Peppers and cheese

Sprinkle with a little bit of mozzerella cheese and then fold it up into a pocket.
First, I tried folding the dough like this, but it didn't work very well. The ends didn't stay closed, even when I tried to crimp them with a fork.

Next, I tried folding it like this. This method worked better, although I still filled a few too full and had trouble closing them.

Once you have as many pockets as you'd like, put them in the oven at 425F and cook for 20 min. or so, until they are golden brown.

Hopefully, yours will look better than mine did.

I think I filled them too full, what do you think? ;)
It doesn't really matter because they were still delicious!!
Seriously.
These are like a million times better than the store-bought ones. And that burned, crispy cheese around the edges? Yum.
Prepare to make twice as many as you think you'll need, because your crew will gobble them up like there's no tomorrow.