309 pocket recipes

The traditional cookie for Purim, hamantashen is Yiddish for "Haman's pockets". They are meant to recall the story of Haman, a wicked Persian prince who wished to destroy the Jews but was foiled by Mordecai and Esther."

Cajun-style stuffed pork loin roast with deep pockets packed with sautéed onion, celery, and green pepper trinity, all wrapped in a fiery dry rub. Roasted low and slow then blasted hot for a dark, peppery crust.

Fruit custard pie pours a silky scalded-milk custard into a pastry shell, then tops it with fresh berries that sink and bake into pockets of jammy fruit. A simple British-style dessert with six pantry ingredients.

Peanut muffins with a hidden jelly surprise: tender peanut-studded muffins baked around a molten pocket of fruit jam and topped with a crunchy peanut sprinkle. PB and J in muffin form, ready in about 45 minutes.

Mediterranean lamb burgers: grilled rosemary-garlic lamb patties stuffed into pita with goat cheese, olive-tomato salad, and minted yogurt sauce. A greek-style upgrade on burger night.

Homemade buttermilk ranch seasoning mix - why buy a packet when you can make your own and control the salt!

Skip store-bought packets and make your own Italian dressing mix that will keep in the pantry for up to a year.

Easy peach rhubarb refrigerator jam made with fresh rhubarb, canned peach pie filling, and a packet of orange gelatin. No pectin, no canning. Spreads bright on toast or biscuits.

Sugarless heart cookies sweetened with sugar-free fruit gelatin instead of granulated sugar. Roll-and-cut shortbread-style dough, six ingredients, flavor and color come straight from the gelatin packet.

Easy rhubarb jam made with just three ingredients: fresh rhubarb, sugar and a packet of Jello for instant flavor and color. No pectin, no thermometer, 20 minutes start to jar.

Mexican hot chocolate whisks unsweetened cocoa with honey, cinnamon, and a touch of nutmeg into warm milk for a cozy, spiced sipper. From-scratch and naturally sweetened, no powdered packets required.

I use crushed Ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs and add 2/3 cup of shredded sharp Cheddar. A simple gravy to go along with the meatloaf can also be made using another packet of soup mix, 2 Tbs. flour and 2 cups of cold water. Simmer until thickened.

Steak baked in a foil packet with cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix, potatoes, carrots, and celery. A complete one-packet beef dinner with almost no cleanup. Family favorite comfort food.

Salmon baked in foil packets on a bed of spinach, topped with a creamy horseradish walnut sauce. An elegant one-packet dinner with easy cleanup.

SPAM, sliced potatoes, carrots, and onions baked in foil packets with a sweet-tangy brown sugar, beer, and stone ground mustard glaze. A hands-off foil packet dinner with almost no cleanup.

Grilled fish in foil packets with lemon butter, dill, and sliced onion. Each fillet steams in its own pouch on the grill with almost zero cleanup.