I’ve been on a mission to switch up my Pizza Nights a bit.  Last week I decided to venture out and try a Thin Crust Pizza, which turned out very well.  This week, I decided to try making Calzones: an undertaking that was also met with delicious results!  Tom said it was “pretty good” after his first bite.  Then, after eating a good majority of it, he deemed it “very good”.  Somehow, he was able to finish all but a couple bites of his.  I only ate half of mine – they’re huge and filling!

I started with a recipe I found on my favorite recipe website: AllRecipes.com.  After looking at that, I made some adjustments and came up with the following for my Calzone recipe:

-          2 ½ cups flour

-          1 cup warm water

-          1 packet yeast

-          1 tsp. salt

-          1 tsp. sugar

-          1 Tbsp. olive oil (plus more for spreading over top!)

-          2 cups mozzarella cheese

-          Whatever other fillings you want (I used pepperoni, green pepper, red onion and jalapeno)

-          Salt

-          Garlic powder

-          Dried oregano

-          Pizza sauce (for dipping)

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add salt, sugar, and olive oil.  Stir to combine.  Slowly add flour, mixing well.  Knead dough for a couple of minutes, or until smooth.  Rub olive oil around outside of the dough, place back in the mixing bowl, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven and pizza stone at 375 degrees.

Punch dough down and separate into two pieces.  Roll each piece of dough out into a large circle.   

Mix cheese and desired fillings and divide between the two calzones -- placing fillings on only one half of each of the circles.  

Fold the other half of the dough over the toppings.  Use a fork to seal the edges and to keep in the deliciousness! 

Brush the top of each calzone with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt, garlic and oregano to taste.  Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.  Remove from oven and serve while hot!   

Add a cup of pizza sauce on the side to dip the calzones in.

Let me know what you think.  These really weren't that hard to make, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well they turned out!  I will definitely be adding this to my routine meals!

I tried a new variation on lasagna today: Alfredo Lasagna Primavera.  The verdict?  Delicious!!  I already shared my classic lasagna recipe with you, along with some variations.  However, this recipe is so different that I decided it deserves its own post.  Here’s what I did.

 
 

1/2 pint heavy whipping cream

¾ cup *real* Parmesan cheese, finely grated

2 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. flour

Melt butter in a small sauce pan.  Whisk in flour until well combined.  Add heavy whipping cream and heat over medium low until sauce thickens slightly.  Remove from heat, and add cheese very SLOWLY, stirring constantly.  If you like, you can add some spices.  For this recipe, I added black pepper, red pepper and garlic.

**Note: you can also use this sauce recipe for fettuccine Alfredo – just toss with pasta; add in veggies or grilled chicken if you’d like!

In conclusion, I have to admit that I actually like this Alfredo Lasagna better than my regular lasagna.  Tom seems to like both equally, however…so I’m sure they’ll both remain in my dinner rotation!