Calzone Night!

I had my husband choose off the menu on our fridge what would be dinner tonight. And then I proceeded to veto each item he picked. "We can't have Twice Baked Corned Beef, because tomorrows Taco Tuesday and I don't plan on making Corned Beef Tacos with the leftovers." "We can't have tacos tonight, it's only Monday" And then finally he picked Calzones. The Tortured Teenager was not happy. It's not quite pizza. She doesn't get a say since I am sure she will be busy later. Such is the life in summer for a teen. Now The Ballplayer was thrilled! He was picking his fillings. If you follow my little blog, you will remember we made Biscuits and Gravy the other night. And it called for a half tube of hot breakfast sausage. We were saving the other half just for these calzones!! You could grill up some fresh veggies, some onions or just fill with cheese or pepperoni.


If you have made my Easy Pizza Dough, you know this is as easy as home made yeast doughs come. You could even grab some pizza dough from the store. My family likes it homemade.

Here's what you need;
3 3/4 c. all-purpose
2 1/2 Tb. fast-acting yeast (2 packets)
3/4 ts. salt
1 ts. sugar
1 1/3 c. room temperature (about 72 degrees) water
olive oil for the pans
This recipe is literally a toss it all in the bowl and mix it up!
See! I just dumped all the dry ingredients into the bowl!
But if those directions are too simple...In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon, mix until blended, about a minute. It might be a bit stiffer than other pizza dough’s you’ve made.
Once you add the water, as you see, if looks like its not enough but trust me! It is!
Then the next part of the recipe is a little different. I kneaded the dough in the bowl. Yes in the bowl!

Next, place the dough into a greased bowl and covered it with a towel to double, about 2 hours.


Preheat oven to 425. Lightly grease your cookie sheet.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Cut into six even pieces. Roll out into thin circles

Cover with sauce. I'm using jarred spaghetti sauce. I have made it homemade and it is wonderful. Time is just an issue today. Careful to not sauce the outer inch of the crust. Fill with your favorite pizza toppings. I was afraid to overfill but remember the cheese melts down so fill them up!

Fold over and crimp with a fork. Place on the cookie sheet. Take a knife and cut a little slit in the top. This is to vent the trapped steam.

Bake 15-18 minutes
If you want them to look really pretty, brush with an egg yolk or milk before baking. I totally forgot with my first batch tonight and remembered with the last one. The egg wash gets rid of the dusty appearance with my family couldn't have noticed considering how fast they were gobbled down.

The Ballplayer has decided that he prefers this to pizza. He likes the extra dough and ease of holding to eat. He ate two! Two!!
I served with warmed sauce. I was the only one that used it though. The guys felt they didn't need it.

What would you put in a calzone?


Family Friendly Note As promised how to make this friendly for families with young kids. This is the perfect dish to get the kids involved. Give them the independence of picking ingredients they like. Kids can help roll out the dough or crimp the edges with a fork. If time is an issue, you could get dough that is already ready to roll out. Calzones also do not have to be a half circle. you could use a pizza cutter and cut out squares out of pre-made pizza dough or puff pastry. Enjoy!