Three Free Thursday Part III: Chicken & Gruyere Turnovers

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers!   To recap the process, on the first Thursday, I select three free recipes from sources on Twitter.  On the following Thursday, I report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home. Enjoy!

Recipe:  Chicken & Gruyere Turnovers

Source: @Real_Simple

Link: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-and-gruyere-turnovers-00000000052482/index.html

I'm always looking for interesting ways to use up leftovers in creative weeknight meals, so @Real_Simple Chicken & Gruyere Turnovers seemed like an excellent way to use up leftover shredded chicken and partially consumed bags of frozen vegetables.  Also, puff pastry is delightful - whether homemade (which I'm slightly afraid to try) or frozen pre-made versions from Pepperidge Farms or others.  To see some gorgeous homemade puff pastry, check out this post from the inspiring Small Boston Kitchen who clearly mastered puff pastry day at culinary school : http://onceuponasmallbostonkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/02/thoughts-on-puff-pastry.html

Findings:

This @Real_Simple Chicken & Gruyere Turnovers recipe is simple as promised.   The preparation time was less than fifteen minutes (after the puff pastry had thawed for forty minutes) and cooking time was twenty-five minutes.  I wouldn't make this recipe regularly for a weeknight meal (too many saturated fats in puff pastry), but it is perfect for entertaining.  Make mini turnovers for guests or slice full-size turnovers into tasty slices (note: cutting puff pastry does cause it to fall and lose some of its' delightfull puffiness). The best way to make this recipe more interesting - explore new filling combinations (see Tips section for more filling ideas)!  I personally greatly enjoyed replacing the frozen peas with layers of fresh baby spinach.  Delicious!

Tips:

• Freeze prepped turnovers prior to baking if you don't plan on consuming all in one meal. Otherwise, only make a half batch of turnovers or thaw until room temperature and eat as a cold lunch- these do NOT reheat very well.
• Substitute turnover fillings - add fresh baby spinach instead of peas, add some carmalized onions or use a mix of grated cheeses. Go meatless by adding lots of spinach, chunks of canned artichoke hearts (rinse well first), other mild-flavored greens, sliced sweet potatoes and/or sauteed onions. Be creative - almost anything tastes good in puff pastry. ;-)

 Rating: 3 out of 5  

Thanks for reading Part III of this week's Three Free Thursday! Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com