Red Pack Tomatoes and Chili Pockets

Yeah, it’s Super Bowl Sunday and I’m just posting this now. But you don’t need a sporting event to enjoy something that will help take the chill off the winter chill… and isn’t too messy. Sure you can have chili in a nice big bowl and a slice of bread, but why not put them together and save yourself from washing more dishes? Any way to get out of washing dishes is fine by me.

I received a package containing cans of Red Pack tomatoes and other goodies for the kitchen. I’ve written about them before, so let’s get to cooking!

Chili Pockets

1 medium onion, small dice
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 pound ground beef or meat of your choice
1 can kidney beans
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 1/4 tsp cumin
1 1/4 tsp chili powder
1 1/4 tsp paprika
salt
pepper

shredded cheese
sour cream
1 tin biscuits

1. Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray and cook onions and garlic on low-medium heat until soft, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Turn heat up to medium and add ground meat. Cook about 5 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink. Pressing down on the meat and stirring will help break it up and cook faster.

3. Add beans, tomatoes, and spices. If the chili is on the soupy side, add tomato paste to thicken. If you do this, you will have to adjust the spices. Turn heat to low, cover pot and simmer 10 minutes.

4. Preheat oven according to biscuit instructions. On a lightly floured surface roll out the biscuits. Size is up to you.

5. Spoon in the chili and whatever toppings you’d like.

6. Folding time! The first two were a pain in the butt, but I think it’s mostly because I didn’t roll the dough out enough. Plus the chili was starting to run, which made closing it difficult. You can use the closing technique of your choice – I started in the middle, closed the ends, and worked my way back to the center.

7. Bake according to package instructions. As you can see, they didn’t seal as I hoped they would. In hindsight, it would have been a good idea to crimp the edges… but it’s not that bad. And most of it has stayed within the confines of the dough.

I do at times like a dollop of sour cream with my chili. For this I used it as a glaze, which then made a not-so-messy meal pretty messy. But hey… that’s what napkins are for!