Before I get into the recipe I have a favor to ask, a shameless plea really. Much to my surprise, this blog has been named one of the Top 25 Foodie Mom Blogs on the Circle of Moms site. I was just floored when I got that email. Now I have a chance to have Our Family Eats featured on their site and share some of my favorite recipes with their readers. But I need your vote! It’s super simple to do – just click here then scroll to find Our Family Eats in the list and click the thumbs up. You don’t need to sign up for anything, just click and you’re done. And I will be so very grateful!
Ok, sorry I had to do that. Now on to the food!
We love making calzones in our house. They’re just fun to make and a great way to get the kids involved in the kitchen. Its really simple to customize each calzone or keep them all the same to streamline the process. I find it’s also a great way to sneak a few stealthy vegetables into unsuspecting family members. As an added bonus calzones are one of my favorite ways to use up leftover ingredients from the fridge. So I ask you, what’s not to like?
This version is my favorite combination of ingredients – italian sausage, bell peppers, and onions. Simple and delicious, and I almost always have everything I need on hand. But there are so many different ways you can make these, so feel free to use whatever you like best. All you need are the basics – refrigerated pizza dough, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and a jar of pasta sauce, then substitute your own fillings for the sausage, peppers and onions. You can’t go wrong, and I guarantee that your family will love it. In our case, having two small kids makes going to a pizza place more of a headache than a timesaver, but with quick meals like this I don’t miss it one bit.
Calzones with Sausage and Peppers
serves 4
1 lb Italian sausage
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, diced
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1 package refrigerated pizza dough
olive oil for brushing
your favorite prepared pasta sauce for dipping
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
Remove sausage casings and crumble into a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle with oregano. Add bell pepper and onion to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink, about 4-5 minutes. Drain and place into a large mixing bowl. Add ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese to sausage mixture and stir well. Set aside.
Unroll pizza dough from package and lay flat on work surface. Using a sharp knife cut dough into 4 equal pieces. Place one piece of dough in front of you and lightly stretch to about 1 1/2 times its size, being careful not to tear the dough. Spoon 1/4 of the sausage mixture down the center of the dough. Fold dough over filling and press edges to seal. Transfer to baking sheet (I use my hands for this – the calzone is pretty stable at this point.) Repeat these steps with each of the remaining pieces of dough to make a total of 4 calzones. Brush each calzone with olive oil, or you can lightly spray with cooking spray if you prefer.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Serve with pasta sauce for dipping.
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We absolutely love calzones & I never realized that they would be that easy to make. I voted for your blog & intend to stuff ballot box by getting everyone I can think of to vote! Good luck!
Thanks so much for the kind words Samina! And thanks for voting! Have a great night!
I voted because you ARE my favorite food blog!!!
Great recipe I'm new to your blog but LOVE it. You got my vote
Made this last night and it was awesome! I actually used pepperoni instead of the sausage and it was so good and easy to make. Mine didn't look quite as perfect as your picture but it was a big hit! Thanks!