21 Day Fix Easy Chicken Parmesan Pockets

I made these super easy Chicken Parmesan Pockets last week and they were a hit. I love how easy they were to put together for an easy week night dinner or prepped ahead for lunches at work!  

This recipe calls for Marinara sauce and I personally make my own (recipe below) but if you are purchasing some just get one that has nothing but tomatoes and no added sugar or salt in it!  

This recipe also uses Italian Seasoning as well so if you don't have a spice jar of pre-made Italian seasoning then you can make your own with just a few spices you might already have on hand.  

For picky kids you can always use plain chicken and cheese for their pockets which is exactly what we did for Fraser.  Both kids quite enjoyed having "Pizza Pockets" for dinner and I made a few extra for our lunches the next day as well!  They are easy to warm up in the toaster oven or mirco for a hearty and hot lunch.  

I can think of so many yummy things you would pop into these pockets to change things up! What would you put in them?

The Method to make these is incredibly easy, just mix the sauce, spices, basil and chicken together.

Once mixed you will sprinkle cheese onto the center of the wrap and then top it with a thick layer of the chicken mixture.  I used my 21 day fix blue container to measure the cheese and my red container to measure the chicken mixture so I had the container counts done.  

Then just fold in the ends of it and fold over the long sides to make it into a nice pocket.  I wasn't sure if it would all hold together but the cheese on the inside must have done a good job because these little pockets held together perfectly!

I used my Cast Iron griddle to cook 5 at the same time which was a great way to get them all cooked at one time.  I made one with just cheese and plain chicken for Fraser which was gobbled up and I was happy that Asher liked the one with tomato and basil too! 

These pockets are back on the menu again this week (stay tuned for that meal plan) and I'm seriously looking forward to them.  I prepped the shredded chicken this morning by cooking the chicken and shredding it in the stand mixer (which is the best thing ever).  Check out the video below I made a few weeks back.  

Now you can either do the chicken breasts in the crock pot with some sort of sauce or you can boil or poach the chicken to make it tender enough to shred easily.  This is an ideal quick method for cooking chicken breasts.  You can either boil them in water or chicken stock, whichever you prefer. 

All you have to do is place the chicken in a saucepan large enough to hold the chicken pieces comfortably. Add enough cooking liquid to cover the chicken. If desired, add any other ingredients for flavoring the liquid and chicken. Bring to boiling on medium-high heat; reduce the heat. Cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is no longer pink. Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves take about 15 to 20 minutes to cook. 

21 Day Fix Easy Chicken Parmesan Pockets

Yield: Four wraps
Container Counts:  (1 yellow, 1 red, 1 blue and 1/2 green)

Ingredients

3 cups roughly shredded, cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning (Make you own using Parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, black pepper, rosemary, basil and red pepper flakes)
½ teaspoon sea salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup your favorite marinara sauce (I use the Grandmas tomato sauce recipe below)
¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
4 Whole wheat tortilla wraps
1 cup shredded, white cheddar cheese
Additional marinara sauce, warmed for dipping, if desired

Directions

Place shredded chicken in a medium bowl. Add Italian seasoning, sea salt, and black pepper, and stir well to combine.

Add marinara sauce and basil to chicken mixture, and stir to combine again.

Lay 1 Tortilla wrap on work surface, and sprinkle ¼ cup (1 blue container) of cheese down the center, leaving a large border all around the cheese. Spread ¼ of the chicken mixture (1 red container) on top of the cheese.

Fold short ends of wrap inward toward middle, and then fold long sides of wrap inward toward middle, making a closed wrap.

Repeat with the remaining 3 wraps, dividing the remaining cheese and the remaining chicken mixture evenly among them.

Preheat a dry nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once preheated, add the wraps and cook on the first side until golden brown, about 1 ½ - 2 minutes. Flip wraps and cook on second side until golden, about another 1½ minutes.

Serve with additional tomato sauce for dipping.

Grandma's Tomato Sauce Recipe

I made a bunch of big batches of this tomato sauce this summer and canned it to preserve and use over the winter.  So I just opened up a Jar to use for my Parm Pockets.  Here is the Recipe.  21 Day Fix Servings:  12 (1/2 cup each)      Container Count:   3 greens  1/2 tsp Prep Time: 40 min Cooking Time: 1 hr  15 min Ingredients 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 med onion, chopped 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 1 (6 oz can) tomato paste, no salt added 1/4 cup red wine 2 cans (28 oz each) whole peeled tomatoes [like San Marzano or Cento} crushed or pureed in a blender 2 Tbsp agave nectar or Honey 1 tsp sea salt 1/4  tsp ground black pepper 1 (3 oz) Parmesan (or parmigiano) cheese rind 3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil  Directions

1.  Heat oil in large saucepan over me-high heat
2.  Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, for 5-6 min or until onion is translucent
3.  Add garlic and tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 min.  Do not let tomato paste burn. 
4.  Add wine;  stirring constantly for 2-3 min. 
5.  Add tomatoes, agave, salt, and pepper.  Bring to boil,  stirring frequently.  Reduce heat to low; gently boil, stirring occasionally, for 3 min.
6.  Add cheese rind; cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
7.  add basil, mix well. 

*The parmigiano rind is not totally necessary, but it is a great way to add depth to the sauce without much by way of extra calories.