My Girls' Favorite Calzone
I made calzone for the first time last week and it went over quite well. It was something I wanted to make as a way to use up some leftovers as well as some fridge residents. I had other ideas for the fresh spinach, fresh mozzarella, red bell pepper and mushrooms. It's just that I never got around to making couscous, tomato cheese salad, tostadas, or baked rice. I had time to make spaghetti and meatballs which always finds itself at the top of our dining list. Since we had several left over meatballs and plenty of sauce calzone just sounded like an excellent way to use up the rest of my need to use items. I was very pleased with the outcome. They came together quickly and were they tasty. The girls kept eating despite being burned by the hot delicious filling. I made these again last night. Instead of using spinach, mushrooms and bell peppers I tossed in a cup of shredded zucchini. It was a hit. I loved being able to use up a zucchini and getting another vegetable into supper. If you need a good pizza dough recipe try my Whole Wheat Pizza dough, it works great with these calzones. For those of you with a bread machine try my Bread Machine Pizza dough recipe. It's very similar to the the whole wheat recipe but tailored for bread machines.
My Girls' Favorite Calzone
pizza dough for 14" pizza, cut into 4 pieces
8 meatballs, quartered
1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce
5 button mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut up into pieces
1-2 cups fresh baby spinach
olive oil
Kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine the meatballs, sauce, mushrooms, bell pepper, cheese and spinach. Mix until everything is coated with the sauce. Set aside. On a lightly floured surface roll your four pizza dough chunks into 8" rounds. Place each round half way on your baking sheet, letting the sides hang over. (Doing so will allow you to see the fill space for your filling.) Spoon the mixture onto each half of your dough rounds. Fold the overhanging dough over the filling, leaving about a half inch border. Roll and pinch edges to seal. Brush tops with olive oil and season with Kosher salt and black pepper. Bake calzones 15-18 minutes until golden brown.
My Girls' Favorite Calzone
pizza dough for 14" pizza, cut into 4 pieces
8 meatballs, quartered
1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce
5 button mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut up into pieces
1-2 cups fresh baby spinach
olive oil
Kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine the meatballs, sauce, mushrooms, bell pepper, cheese and spinach. Mix until everything is coated with the sauce. Set aside. On a lightly floured surface roll your four pizza dough chunks into 8" rounds. Place each round half way on your baking sheet, letting the sides hang over. (Doing so will allow you to see the fill space for your filling.) Spoon the mixture onto each half of your dough rounds. Fold the overhanging dough over the filling, leaving about a half inch border. Roll and pinch edges to seal. Brush tops with olive oil and season with Kosher salt and black pepper. Bake calzones 15-18 minutes until golden brown.
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