MexiPockets (previously "Mexican Meat Pockets")

So I think it's about time we rename this meal...
It has been brought to my attention by a friend and Urban Dictionary that "meat pocket" already has a definition and it is nowhere close to a homemade version of a Hot Pocket.

So there's no confusion, hubby and I have decided to call these Taco Pockets.
Oh? You say there's already something called a "taco pocket" that Rachel Ray makes?
Well that's not even a taco it's a damn burrito! She changed the name of a burrito?! Yeah and her meals realistically take 30 minutes to cook for the average housewife and mother. Pfft. (With that said... I'll mention I hate when someone refers me to Rachel Ray. While she makes the best affordable kitchenware I've found, her overall TV personality annoys me and like I said -- her meals take way longer than the 30 minutes she claims.) I'd hate for my pockets to get confused with Rachel's, so instead we'll call these.. MexiPockets.

Enough with my Rachel Ray rant and my talk of the slang definition of this meal. Here it is!

MexiPockets

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef (or turkey)
• 1 package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets*
• 1 packet of taco seasoning (hot or mild - your preference)
  
• water
• handful of flour
• shredded cheese (optional)
  
• sour cream (optional)
• guacamole (optional)
• salsa (optional)

PREPARATIONS: Thaw out both sheets of puff pastry by leaving on the counter for 45ish minutes. Make sure you have enough counter space, a rolling pin and a greased baking sheet. Just before getting started, preheat oven to 400.

STEP 1 - PREPARING THE MEAT: Brown the ground beef (or turkey) in a skillet. Drain the fat, then use the taco seasoning as directed on the back of the packet (for McCormick's you drop in packet and 3/4 cup of water). Set aside to cool.

STEP 2 - PREPARING THE DOUGH: Roll out parchment (or wax) paper on the counter and grab a rolling pin. Lightly flour the paper and rolling pin. Unfold one sheet of dough on the paper and roll it out about an inch from what it was before (make sure the surface of dough is even). Trim the edges if needed to create an even square. Fold the dough over itself in one direction, then open back up and fold in the opposite direction. You will have four even squares (reference the picture below if needed). Cut the dough along the lines. Repeat with the other sheet of dough.




STEP 3 - ASSEMBLING: Set aside a small container of water to dip your fingers in. Lay out a single square of dough. Fill it with meat, but leave a small edge to seal the pocket. At this time you may want to add shredded cheese (seriously recommended), guacamole, salsa, or sour cream. We usually leave the last three aside as dippers. If you include extras, make sure there isn't so much that you can't close the pocket. When done, dip your finger in the water that was set aside and go around the edges of the dough. Fold the dough over and press on the edges. Take a fork and crimp the edges. Place on the sheet for baking and repeat until everything is used. (NOTE: If you have extra dough from trimming, you might be able to roll it out and make a mini pocket.)



STEP 4 - BAKE & DEVOUR: Bake these puppies for about 15-20 minutes (take a look around the 15 minute mark to see if they're golden brown). Let them cool. You know that everyone hates biting into a Hot Pocket only to reveal liquid hot magma. Once they're cool enough to pick up, they're probably cool enough to eat. Like I said earlier, we serve these with sour cream or salsa. Sometimes we even get all fancy and use guacamole. Either way they're good.


* = For the easy version of this I use the frozen puff pastry sheets. When I have time, I prefer to use homemade dough. If you'd like the homemade puff pastry dough recipe, feel free to e-mail me. Just be warned that puff pastry dough is hard to work with and is difficult to accomplish when juggling babies.