Calzones

{Meatless Monday}

This is a meal I have been making for over a decade. Back when we were in married student housing at BYU, a neighbor of mine made these. She didn't really have a recipe and over the years I have made these probably twenty different ways. One thing I have learned...the more veggies, the better!

I will try to give you an approximate recipe of what I did. (Though I literally just throw together whatever I have, but here we go...)

This is what I used to make the calzones. Mozzarella cheese really is wonderful for these, but it just hasn't gone on a great sale lately, so I don't have any! ; )

2 small cartons of cottage cheese (one large would also be fine...one of my cartons had been opened by "Casper" and was only 2/3 full.
2 cups shredded cheese
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 can olives
1/2 bell pepper
2 cups spinach
4-5 mushrooms
I also use garlic powder, onion powder, and salt and pepper...but they didn't make it in the picture.

(For some reason, I have a LOT of photos for this recipe...but still only about a third of what the Pioneer Woman takes for each recipe... ; )

I just chopped up all the vegetables. Everyone in my family likes spinach and olives, so I went ahead and mixed those two into the cheese mixture. Then I sauteed the mushrooms and peppers to add into a few of the calzones for the adults.


This is the cottage cheese, cheddar (or mozzarella), parmesan, olives, and spinach. Then I just sprinkle on some garlic powder, onion powder, and salt and pepper to taste.

I was in a hurry when I was making these, so I opted to use my pizza crust recipe instead of my regular bread recipe.
Take a small hunk of dough and roll it out into an oval-ish shape. Put about 1/2 cup of cheese mixture into center of dough.


Then I did this for me and my husband:


Then, just fold the dough over the filling and roll the edge to close. Try to seal them fairly well all around the edge...otherwise a lot ends up leaking out while they bake.


This is how many I got using the amounts I listed above and a double recipe of my pizza dough.
There were 3 large ones and 6 medium ones. I always sprinkle corn meal on my pans (instead of greasing) when I make bread, rolls, etc.


Bake at 350* for approximately 25-30 minutes until they are golden brown.

Serve with warm spaghetti sauce over the top ( I always use Ragu...the chunkier the better) and you can also garnish with fresh parmesan. My husband took this last photo for me (I was leaving to book club!) and he ALWAYS garnishes with a sprig of his fresh parsley out of the garden.

Try these out and let me know how you like them. They are super easy and have always been so delicious...no matter what I throw into them!