Calzones Recipe

I originally got the recipe for calzones HERE. But for easy reference, here it is copied and pasted. (My notes will be at the bottom of the post).

Calzones

To make the dough:
1 cup + 2 TB. of warm water
2 tsp. yeast
1-1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups flour

The easiest way to do this is to use your bread machine on the dough cycle, but if you don't have one simply start by dissolving the yeast in the water. Next you will add the flour and the salt until you are able to handle the dough (it shouldn't be extremely sticky, although a bit of stickiness is OK). Knead the dough on a lightly floured counter for 8 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl (covered with a cloth) for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.

Gather your filling ingredients:
For these calzones I used meatballs and mozzarella cheese. For eight calzones I used approximately 16 meatballs (each one cut in half) and about 1 cup of cheese. You will also need spaghetti sauce, barbecue sauce or ranch dressing, depending on your filling ingredients.

Once your dough is done, divide it into 8 pieces. Roll one piece into a small circle and place your fillings on one-half of that circle. Fold one-half of the dough over the filling and seal the edges with a fork (kids love to do this!). Be sure to seal the edges well so that the cheese doesn't leak out. Place these on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with all of the dough pieces until you are done.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15-18 minutes or until they are golden brown. Serve and eat with your favorite sauce, or freeze in ziploc bags for later use. These are great when served with pasta or green salad. Enjoy!

**** Katie's Notes *****

In an effort to make these a bit healthier, I used 1.5 cups of plain white flour and 1.5 cups of whole wheat flour. I thought they still tasted great! Also, for the filling I cooked up some ground beef, chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, and bits of chopped broccoli. I also mixed in a packet of fajita seasoning mix. Before closing it, I added a tablespoon or so of cheddar cheese. I made Maya's without the bell peppers and onions (she's not a fan), but she loved it with the broccoli.

My point finder book that I have didn't list whole wheat flour in it, so I used the points value for wholemeal flour. It was basically the same as white flour. For each calzone, I used approximately 35g of beef (about three tablespoons or so), about 15g of cheddar cheese (a good sized tablespoon I think, and piled on the veggies.