Last Friday evening I was in the mood for something pizza like. Its kind of funny how Friday night is pizza night for many people. I think it is because it is the end of the work week and most of us are too tired to think about what to make for dinner and it is easy to think about stopping at the pizza shop on the way home. Well, because I am trying to stay healthy and didn't want to bring home a whole pizza pie that I would eat more than I needed of and that Grumpy would finish....I decided to try these calzones that I had been looking at in an older issue of Cooking Light. I had bought the sausage earlier in the week because I saw it in the store and knew that it was one of the ingredients for this calzone. The dough was super easy to work with and tasted great! If you like sweet, you will like this. Grumpy ate his, but he wasn't crazy about it - he definitely wants more cheese. However, I was very pleased and froze the remaining single servings (the greatest part of this recipe!) and can now pull this out for myself to take to work or have one evening when I'm making something different for Grumpy.
adapted from Cooking Light, May 2007
Dough:
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, divided (about 12 ⅓ ounces)
1 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
1 package dry yeast (about 2 ¼ teaspoons)
Dash of sugar
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
Cooking spray
Filling:
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion (about 1)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound chicken apple sausage, cut into ¼-inch slices (I used Al Fresco)
¾ cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
½ cup no-salt-added tomato sauce
¼ cup 2% low-fat cottage cheese
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.)
To prepare filling, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add bell pepper, onion, garlic, and sausage; sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Spoon mixture into a bowl; cool slightly. Add mozzarella and remaining ingredients to sausage mixture; stir well.
Preheat oven to 450°.
Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide into 8 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 6-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Spoon about ½ cup sausage mixture onto half of each circle, leaving a ½-inch border. Fold dough over filling; crimp edges of dough with fingers to seal. Place calzones on a large baking sheet lined with foil and coated with cooking spray. Pierce the tops of the dough once with a fork. Lightly coat the calzones with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 14 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Coat a sheet of foil with cooking spray. Place 1 calzone on coated side of foil; seal. Repeat procedure with remaining calzones and cooking spray. Place calzones in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; freeze.
Preheat oven to 450°.
To reheat, place foil-wrapped, frozen calzones on a large baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
WW Points: 7
Creative One
Love calzones. These look and sound so delicious!
TeaLady
Okay. I am hooked. These were soooo easy to make. I love the fact that there are so many possibilities for filling. Ham/Cheese. Pizza toppings mixed. I just finished 1/2 of a mushroom/swiss calzone. Thanks again for the recipe.
Linda
I've never had chicken apple sausage before--it sounds delicious. Your calzones are picture-perfect!