Spinach and Mushroom Calzones
These calzones are practically guaranteed to get your kids in the kitchen to help you cook. Kids love working with the dough and customizing their pizza pockets to their own tastes. (You can often buy pizza dough at the supermarket or Italian restaurants or delis.)
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough (about 1 ¼ lbs.)(store-bought or homemade)(use wheat/gluten-free, if needed), see note below for homemade dough directions
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup red pasta sauce or tomato sauce
- 1 cup part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese or fresh chopped mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup fresh sliced mushrooms optional
- 1 cup baby spinach optional
- 1/2 cup pre-cooked chicken sausage or pepperoni(use wheat/gluten-free, if needed), sliced (optional)
- 5 - 6 cloves garlic minced, about 1 Tbsp. (optional)
Instructions
- Take the pizza dough out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before making the pizza (for ease in rolling it out), if time allows. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Flatten each ball of dough. Over a lightly floured surface, stretch and form each ball into a disk that is 7 - 8 inches in diameter and about ¼-inch thick.
- On half of a disk spread a spoonful of sauce (try to stop about 3/4-inch before the edge of the dough to make it easier to seal) and a handful of cheese. Top the cheese with some of the above fillings, if desired. Fold the empty half of the dough over the filling to make a half-moon shape. Pinch the edges to seal. Repeat with each disk.
- Bake the calzones on the baking sheet for 10 - 12 minutes or until they are golden brown. (You can freeze the cooked and cooled calzones and then reheat them in the oven when ready to serve.)
Homemade Pizza Dough Directions
- To make your own pizza dough in a bread machine, combine 2 cups bread flour (use wheat/gluten-free, if needed), 3 Tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 3 Tbsp. olive oil, 2/3 cup water, and 1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast in the bread machine. Follow your machine's directions for making dough. You can find pizza dough recipe that doesn't require a bread machine over at The Fresh Loaf, but you'll only need half the recipe for these calzones.
Notes
Do Ahead or Delegate: Take the dough out of the refrigerator to bring it to room temperature, prepare the pizza dough if making your own, shred or chop the mozzarella cheese if necessary and refrigerate, slice the mushrooms and the sausage if necessary and refrigerate the sausage, peel the garlic if using, or fully prepare and freeze the calzones.
Scramble Flavor Booster: Sprinkle your choice of spices on top of the sauce when making your calzones. Some good options are crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, garlic powder, and/or fresh or dried parsley.
Tip: If you want to personalize everyone's calzone, an easy way to tell which is which is to use a small knife or toothpick to 'stencil' in a letter on the outside edge of the crust. You can put each person's first initial on their calzone. If you carve them deep enough, the letters will survive the baking.
Nutritional Information Per Serving (% based upon daily values): Calories 413, Total Fat: 12g, 19%; Saturated Fat: 2g, 8%; Cholesterol: 0mg, 0%; Sodium: 757mg, 32%; Total Carbohydrate: 41g, 14%; Dietary Fiber: 2g, 9%; Sugar: 12g; Protein: 7g
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