Calzones

Here's another recipe that I go to when I need to make dinner in a hurry. Fridays are often the toughest days for me; after a long week, I usually don't have a lot of energy to make something elaborate. We try to avoid take-out as much as possible (for financial and health reasons), so I like to try to emulate popular take-out dishes with better control over the ingredients.

A calzone is a moon-shaped turn-over, similar to a folded over pizza, but without the sauce inside. Instead, the sauce is served on the side for dipping. When I have a little more time, I make the dough from scratch (my friend Emmy has a great recipe on her blog).

But on days like today, I use frozen dough. My grocery store sells a frozen NY style dough (regular or whole wheat), which has very few ingredients and no preservatives (what I look for when I buy pre-packaged food). I simply defrost the dough on the counter for the afternoon and it's ready to go by dinner-time.

To make the calzones, divide the dough for one pizza into four balls. Roll and/or pull each ball into a small circle. Lay on a large baking sheet and top half of the dough with vegetables and/or meats and cheese. Today, I used turkey pepperoni (a special treat), cremini mushrooms, diced onion, and shredded mozzarella. But the possibilities are endless. Then fold one half of the dough onto the other, to make a turnover. Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Serve with tomato sauce for dipping.

Note: a serving should be one of these little calzones (or maybe one and a half if you're really hungry). Our pizza place sells a calzone that is equivalent to a whole pizza. Yikes! To keep from eating too much, serve a big salad on the side.