Cheesy Meatloaf Pockets with creamy onion gravy

It’s the never ending question for all home cooks- what to do with leftovers that’s different than just having leftovers?  Such was my dilema last night, facing a partially devoured meatloaf.  I had made Not Your Mama’s Meatloaf  and really wanted to do something different with the leftovers rather than eating the same dinner twice.  While my daughter and wife were perfectly content to eat it again, it’s not my son’s favorite meal.  So how do you make a ten year old love meatloaf?  Hot Pockets!

To make it a little more interesting, I decided to make a gravy to dip it in.  And I’m glad I did.  The sweetness of the onions with the mellow garlic and cream put these over the top.  Enjoy!

I started by making the onion gravy first.  I thinly sliced 2 large onions and 6 cloves of garlic.

In a large pan over medium heat I added 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil.  When the butter melted I add the onions and garlic and stirred to coat.  I covered the pan and cooked them for 12 minutes stirring a few times until they were very soft.

After the onions cooked, I stirred in 1/4 cup flour and let it cook for 2 minutes.

I poured in 4 cups of chicken stock and added 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme and 1/2 teaspoon of hot sauce and let it cook for 10 minutes until slightly thickened stirring frequently.

I whisked in 1 cup of cream and let it cook for about 8 minutes to thicken stirring regularly to prevent it from boiling over.

I ladled the gravy into my blender and whirled it until creamy and pureed.  I did this in two batches transferring the pureed gravy into a bowl after the first batch then adding it all back into the pan.  Remember to only fill the blender jar half full and keep the lid askew to vent when blending hot liquids or you’ll be scrubbing your ceiling off when it explodes.  I let the pureed gravy cook and reduce for another 7-8 minutes until thickened to my liking then kept it warm until the rest of dinner was done.

I cut a 13 ounce tube of refridgerated French bread dough into 4 parts and rolled each piece into about a 6×8 inch rectangle on a floured countertop.

I placed a large slice of jack cheese in the center of each piece of rolled dough then topped that with a big slice of leftover meatloaf that I had squared the ends off of.  I folded the short ends of the dough over until they met in the center then folded the long ends over to form a pocket and pinched the edges together.  I coated a sheet pan with cooking spray and placed the pockets seam side down on the pan.

I baked them in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes until golden brown.

And this was the final dish served with the creamy onion gravy for dipping.  So Good!  Enjoy!