What’s your take on Paula Deen’s announcement last week that she (a) has Type 2 Diabetes and (b) she’s now a spokesperson for drug company, Novo Nordisk? We’re conflicted. On the one hand, we suspect Paula’s style of high fat, high sugar, high calorie cooking/eating may have contributed to her condition. And she certainly doesn’t hold back on butter and cream on her cooking shows. On the other hand, we see a unique opportunity here for Paula to educate her fans about the prevention, detection, and management of diabetes. We certainly hope she embraces that role, and we’re excited about the positive impact she could make. What are your thoughts?

In the meantime, with all the attention on Paula, we decided to look back into our recipe archives for a Paula Deen makeover recipe that we created last year.  The original recipe for Chicken Empanadas call for full-fat cream cheese and Colby cheese and a refrigerated pie crust. For our new recipe, we lighted things up and added two veggies: corn and red bell pepper. We also turned the recipe into kid-friendly hot pockets.

Chicken Empanada Hot Pockets
Makes 6 Servings

Paula’s original recipe has 610 calories, 40 grams total fat, and 20 grams of the bad saturated fat (about a day’s worth). It also has no fiber. We kept the flavors BIG, because after all, Paula Deen inspired the recipe! Serve our pockets with something green: Romaine lettuce salad, green beans, broccoli, asparagus.

2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken (8 to 10 ounces cooked)
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper (half a bell pepper)
3 ounces light cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons canned diced green chile peppers
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
One 16-ounce whole wheat pizza dough

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a large, rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Place the chicken, Cheddar cheese, corn kernels, bell pepper, cream cheese, green chiles, cumin, and pepper in a large bowl and stir until well combined.

3. Place the oil in the center of the baking sheet. Roll the dough in the oil until it’s completely coated. Use your fingers to gently stretch the dough until it covers the entire baking sheet. Your pizza dough should resemble a large rectangle at this point. Use your fingers to pinch together any tears in the dough.

4. Spread the chicken mixture evenly over the wider bottom half of the crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Carefully fold the top part of the dough over the filling. Use a fork (tines facing towards you and away from the pizza) to press the edges together. Make three 1-inch cuts across the top to allow steam to escape.

5. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Slice into 6 stuffed pizza pocket pieces and serve.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1 pocket): 410 calories, 13g fat (3.5g saturated), 480mg sodium, 41g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 36g protein, 15% calcium, 35% vitamin C, 15% vitamin A, 10% iron

Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD and Liz Weiss, MS, RD are The Meal Makeover Moms, and together, they’re on a mission to help busy families eat better. For more recipes, check out their new cookbook, No Whine with Dinner. You can also read their blog, Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen or listen to their weekly podcast, Cooking with the Moms.