Pita Pockets

I was, very admittedly, a picky eater for the better part of my life. It wasn't until I moved to Chicago that I started liking a lot of veggies and anything that wasn't mostly white. Don't get me wrong, some days I could still go for a buttered noodles and milk, but those are very rare cravings.

BTW, it is storming outside right now, so Todd and I have opened the windows, turned out all the lights, and are playing Halo, blogging, and listening to the rain. Thanks Dad for bringing me out on the porch when I was little so I would not be scared of thunderstorms.

Back to the picky eating. Todd and I decided to leave tonight's dinner option open to whatever new recipe we want to try. I had this idea a while ago to find a new recipe out of any book while at Barns and Noble. It's the cheap way to get new recipes and kill an hour reading books in the store instead of staring at a computer screen. Anyway, we left tonight open and decided I would pick something new to make. Since our Seder Meal, we have been meaning to try something a little Mediterranean, so we picked Pita Pockets! Yes, the pockets are white food, but the rest was not reminiscent of the picky eater I once was. It's homemade pita pockets, a cooked chicken breast, and (you gasp while I hang my head in shame) store bought bell pepper hummus. We have not yet learned how to make our own; all reviews say once you make your own, you will never buy it again. Also, store bought strawberries. Come on, I'm not some strawberry farmer, though that would be cool (and delicious).

Pita Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients. Add 1 cup of the flour, along with the yeast, and stir to mix. Add remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough. (Add additional flour if necessary during kneading.)
2. Put your dough into a bowl, lightly oil the top, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise, until almost double (about an hour). I like to turn my oven on for a minute or two, then turn it off, and let the dough rise in there, since our house is cool.
3. Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6- or 7-inch circle.
4. As you roll the rounds, set them aside on a lightly floured countertop or table, and cover loosely with a towel. Let rise for about 25-35 minutes, until slightly puffy. (The rounds will still be thin though! :D)
5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place 2 rounds, side-by-side, onto a wire rack, such as is used for cooling things. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 4-5 minutes, until puffy and just slightly browned. (If bread is too browned, it will be dry and not pliable.)
6. Remove rack from oven and immediately wrap/layer pita breads in a damp towel, to soften. Continue baking the remaining breads, layering them between damp towels as soon as they're baked. Allow breads to completely cool.
7. Cut pita breads in half, or split the top edge, and fill as desired.

For the insides, we chose red pepper hummus, romain lettuce, raw white onion, provolone cheese, and chicken, cooked and shredded.
Wash the lettuce and tear it into bigger pieces.
Cut the onion.
Break the cheese into bit sized pieces.
Cook the chicken however you want. We seasoned with garlic and onion seasoning and cooked on the stove.
Shred the chicken once it is done.

To build your pita pocket:
Spread hummus on the inside.
Press lettuce into hummus.
Layer chicken, onion, cheese until your pocket is full.




We had some strawberries with dinner that Todd so wonderfully picked up on a whim and we had a great new experience with easy and mild Mediterranean food. Make the pita bread and fill them up with whatever you like. Enjoy!