calzones

Okay y’all, before I tell ya the dirt on making these, I simply must share the happenings of my life….first of all, I woke up today with a very sore finger from a lovely cut I got cleaning my coffee mug. Huh? Well, I was scrubbing it and there was this hard piece on the inside I was trying to dislodge….well, somehow I dislodged a chunk of my mug. Oh dear. I’m okay, though. It will grow back,lol. 🙂

If you follow me on facebook , you know that something else VERY EXCITING happened this week. (aside from the escaped frog…) I was featured on the 20 questions segment of Refrigerator Soup! Super happy about that. Please read it if you get a chance….

Now, my life isn’t all sunshine n roses, but it has been a very good week,with enough good things to happen to make the unpleasant “things” seem less important. Isn’t it weird, when something good happens, we see the world and our personal lives with a better outlook, but when something bad happens, we tend to magnify even the tiniest unpleasant thing? I know there is a psychological term for this, but it’s 6:14am and my mind just can’t seem to dig up my college knowledge right now. Maybe a calzone will help….

By the way, I am working on print-friendly pages, I had one on the site, but I really wasn’t happy with what a pain in the rear it was to format. So… bear with me as I see what’s out there. I am still new and learning all the computer stuff, with codes and widgets and HTML, but-hey not too bad so far, eh?

Calzone time! The dough I use is the same classic dough that I use for everything, from bread bowls to pizza. It never lets me down. Prepare dough as directed, while it’s rising cook up some:

if you prefer sausage, my hubby requested it this time. After I cooked this up in my cast-iron skillet, I drained it- then added onions, bell peppers, garlic, baby Bellas, and spinach. YUM.

and mozzarella, of course! Now assembly:

roll out the dough into ovals about 9″ long and 3-4″ wide. (I have NO CLUE if this is really how they make calzones- I am probably morally off by Italian standards to call them calzones…) maybe I should call em giant hot pockets? I probably should ask my real Italian friend Andrea what to call em… hmmm.

OK- now, on your ovals you can spread 2 tbs of ricotta cheese that has been mixed with some Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. (I used up what was left in my container fro this… I am assuming it was 1/4c ricotta and 2 tbs of seasoning.Place 2-3tbs of marinara sauce along with the ricotta. Now you can put in sausage, pepperoni, spinach, mushrooms, onions,eggplant, cheese…what ever ya fancy. Close up-(see tips at end of post) and brush with a mixture of olive oil, garlic, parsley, and Parmesan, and/or mozzarella. Cover with wax paper and let rise in a warm place for about 1/2 hr to 45min.

this was mine…

this was the hubsters! The girls, by the way made their own little pizzas with the dough. Kids love dough. It’s a scientific fact.

Now, bake these babies (not the kids) at 400° ←LOOK AT THAT! I figured out a degree mark!!!! See, I AM still learning!

Bake about 15-20 minutes or until they look like this:

a few little tips~ don’t overfill. If needed, wet your finger a bit to seal the dough. Allow to cool 10 min before slicing. Serve with warm marinara sauce.