Cook like an Italian calzone

My kids are crazy for this!! For those of you that don’t know, a calzone is basically a pizza inside of it’s crust. There are so many different combinations I decided to give you the basic calzone recipe and then some suggestions after. Use your imagination!

Basic calzone

What you’ll need:

1 can pizza dough (you can find it with the canned biscuits)
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Small amount of olive oil
Fillings & sauces

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Lay the dough out flat on cookie sheet (the dough is square when it is unrolled). Spread desired sauce to within ½ inch of edge. Don’t spread it all the way to the edge or your calzone won’t seal. Sprinkle about ¼ tsp parmesan into center. Fill half the calzone with desired fillings. Top the filling with mozzarella cheese. Fold the unfilled half over the filled half and press down on edges to seal all the way around the calzone. GENTLY press down on the top of the calzone to flatten it a little. Spread a small amount of olive oil mixed with Italian seasoning over the top. Cut three small slits in the top to release heat. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 7 minutes or until crust is brown and cheese is melted.

Suggested fillings:

Cooked, crumbled ground beef

Cooked, crumbled Italian sausage

Pepperoni

Ham

Shredded beef

Shredded chicken

Mushrooms

Black olives

Tomatoes

Onions

Bacon

Suggested sauces (to dip and to fill):

Garlic butter – Mix a little garlic powder with butter. Heat to dip, cold to fill.

Marinara – Mix tomato paste, a few drops of water & Italian seasoning. Heat to dip, cold to fill.

Blue cheese dressing

Ranch dressing

Barbeque sauce

Suggested combinations:

Breakfast calzone – Use ranch dressing as the sauce inside. Use scrambled eggs and cooked, crumbled breakfast sausage.

Taco calzone – Use cooked ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, diced onions and cheddar instead of mozzarella and no sauce inside. Dip in sour cream.

Hawaiian calzone – Use sliced ham and pineapple chunks. Use garlic butter to fill and dip.

Barbeque calzone – Use shredded beef, onions and cheddar instead of mozzarella. Use barbeque sauce to fill and dip.

Bacon cheeseburger calzone – Use cooked, crumbled ground beef and bacon. Use cheddar instead of mozzarella. Use blue cheese dressing to fill and dip.

Cost:
canned pizza dough – $1.89
Italian seasoning – $2.89
parmesan cheese – $1.99
shredded cheese – mozzarella – $2.85
Total – $4.98 + fillings