Remember when hot pockets were new?  Boy did I think they were cool.  So handy, and back then I even thought they were tasty.  OK, that was before I discovered fresh, non-processed foods. But I still think they are a neat concept.  So I was tickled when I found a recipe for broccoli cheddar pockets where I could use broccoli and chives from my garden.

The recipe is from Food Network Magazine.  I adapted it a bit by substituting greek yogurt for sour cream and forming individual pockets rather than cooking all four pockets as one large pocket.

And when it is  so quick and easy to make this, there is almost no reason to go the pre-processed route.

The Amazing Snake Rescue

I was out in my garden picking my purple beans when I looked down and saw a very large black snake trapped in the bean netting.  At least I didn’t scream.  It wasn’t moving, so I assumed it was dead; I would deal with it later.

An hour or so later, I was back in the garden to weed.  When I hoed near the netting, the snake moved.  Holy ____!  The snake was alive!  I knew that if I did not do anything it would die; I couldn’t have that on my conscience.  But I am pretty scared of snakes and this guy was big – about 9 feet or bigger and about 2 inches in diameter.

I got some clippers and started from the tail end.  At first I could clip and not touch the snake, I stayed as far back as I could.  But I realized that to actually release him I would need to hold his body still so I could work the clippers between his body and the netting, which was pretty snugly against him. It took a lot of willpower to get myself to grab him, and grab him strongly.  The process of cutting him out took 20 minutes – he had wrapped himself in there pretty completely.

Of course, as soon as I got him released he headed right back towards the netting – oh no!  I quickly grabbed him and tossed him to the edge of the garden.  But he could not find a way out.  I feared that if I left him there he would end up back in the netting.

Once again, I grabbed him and then I flung him out of the garden!  He crawled away quickly to the safety of the darkness under my shed.

My adrenaline was flowing and my heart continued to pound for about 10 minutes.  But I was pretty pleased with my good deed for the day.

Broccoli Cheddar Pockets

adapted from Food Network Magazine

Kosher salt

1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli florets (from the garden)

1 3/4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, about 5 oz.

3 Tbsp plain greek yogurt

2 Tbsp chopped chives (from the garden)

Vegetable oil spray

All-purpose flour, for dusting

1 11-oz tube refrigerated French bread dough

1 large egg

Directions

Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add the broccoli and cook 1 minute.  Drain and rinse under cold water until cool.  Pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 425F and spray a baking sheet lightly with vegetable oil spray.

Mix the broccoli, cheddar, yogurt and chives in a bowl until combined.  Squeeze the mixture together with your hands to make it compact.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough.  Cut into 4 equal pieces.  Place 1/4 of the broccoli mixture in the center of each piece of dough.

Fold each into a pocket.  I Folded each corner in and pinched the seams closed.

Place seam-side down on the baking sheet.  Beat the egg with 1 Tbsp of water and brush the pockets with the egg wash.

Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Serves 4.

Related articles

• Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts (spoonful.com)
• Broccoli and Cheddar Mini Frittatas (spoonful.com)