Cajun Chicken Pizza

Another cold pizza that makes a great nibble when guests are over.  My Cajun chicken addiction continues.

I always make my own pizza dough, but if time is pressing some refrigerated from the store works just as well.  Pizza dough is totally one of the easiest yeast breads to zip together though.


Cajun Chicken Pizza

Pizza dough
1/2 cup medium salsa
16oz reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese
2 tsp hickory bacon salt
2 ancho peppers, roasted and sliced into strips
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Cajun chicken, cut into cubes

I formed the pizza dough into 4 long rectangles instead of two large circles.  Bake at 375 for 15 to 18 minutes until crust is lightly browned.  Let crusts cool on rack.

Mix together cream cheese, salsa, and bacon salt.  Spread across cooled crusts.  Top cream cheese with chicken, peppers, and tomatoes.  Slice into strips and chill until ready to serve.

Beer Cheese Pizza

This dish is a bit of a saltfest, but a tasty one.  Beer and Kielbasa....a combination made in heaven.  I had leftover beer from making the cheese so I tossed it into the pizza crust for fun.....spread the beer love around.

The beer cheese does stiffen up quite a bit when chilled.....let the pizza's sit for 15 minutes or so at room temp before serving.


Beer Cheese Pizza

Crust:
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm Newcastle brown ale
1 tbls oil
1 tbls raw honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milled flax
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tbls vital wheat gluten (optional)

Toppings:
Cherry tomatoes, sliced
Turkey kielbasa, sliced thin
Roasted Poblanos, cut into strips
Roasted Onion, cut into strips
Beer Cheese (I did add 2 roasted poblano peppers to the mix and 1 tsp hickory bacon salt)

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water from the tap. Stir in ale, oil, honey, and salt. Mix in flax, wheat germ, and gluten. Mix in flour gradually. When the dough gets too stiff to continue stirring pour it out onto your work surface and knead in the remaining flour. Continue kneading for 8 minutes or so. Dough should be nice and elastic.

Divide the dough into two portions.  Drop one portion of dough onto a greased cookie sheet.  Work it with your fingers into a large round or rectangular shape.  Repeat with other portion of dough.  Let rise in warm place for 15 to 30 minutes.  Bake at 375 for 18 - 20 mins or until crust is lightly browned.  Cool on wire rack.

Spread beer cheese across the two crusts.  Spread toppings over cheese.  Slice into pieces and chill until ready to serve.

Stuffed Rolls

I do love to play around with pizza dough.....embrace the obsession with all things pizza...embrace it!  ;)  These rolls made very tasty snacks...plus I had a ton of fun making them so it was a double win.

Next time I'll brush the rolls with egg white instead of oil.  I prefer the glossy sheen to the look I ended up with from the oil. 

Next time I'd tuck a few pieces of pepperoni around the cheese instead of just one slice....don't know what I was thinking being stingy there.


Stuffed Rolls

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm skim milk
1 tbls oil
1 tbls raw honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milled flax
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tbls vital wheat gluten (optional)

Filling:
Mozzarella, cubed
Turkey pepperoni

Topping:
Garlic Powder
Parmesan Cheese

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.  Stir in warm skim milk, oil, honey, and salt. Mix in flax, wheat germ, and gluten. Mix in flour gradually. When the dough gets too stiff to continue stirring, pour it out onto your work surface and knead in the remaining flour. Continue kneading for 8 minutes or so. Dough should be nice and elastic.

Divide the dough into 18 to 20 portions.  Form each portion into a rough round shape.   Turn the dough in one hand and fold a third of it under with your other hand. Keep rotating the dough, turning the edges under.  Add a light dust of flour if your ball starts to get sticky.  Flatten your ball out slightly.  Tuck your cube of cheese and slices of pepperoni into the middle and pinch the dough closed around the filler.  Put on greased cookie sheet and so the same with the remaining dough.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 mins.

Brush oil across the top of the rolls.  Sprinkle with garlic powder and parmesan cheese.  Bake in oven at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes or until rolls are nicely browned.  Cool on racks.

I could have made my rolls slightly smaller...the bread was a little thick around the filling.....I'm torn over whether that is a bad thing though since I am a serious bread lover.  ;)  

Seven Layer Dip Pizza

This is not the most attractive appetizer I've ever made.  Kinda makes me want to eat this in the dark.  ;)  I made a crisp corn crust, but next time I'll do my usual pizza crust instead.  It wasn't a bad crust mind you, just a little on the tough side.  Hrm.....I just realized some flour tortilla dough would make an interesting crust...more experimentation needed.

A little twist on the usual 7 layer dip....easy to tote around and serve since you don't have to worry about chips.


Seven Layer Dip Pizza

Crust
2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tbls oil
1 tbls raw honey
1/4 tsp salt

Toppings:
Salsa
Sour Cream
Refried Beans
Guacamole
Sliced Black Olives
Chopped Tomatoes
Shredded Taco Cheese

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of the warm water.  Stir in the remaining warm water, oil, honey, and salt.  Mix in cornmeal and flour and continue stirring until it's too hard to continue mixing in bowl.  Turn out onto a floured board and knead in remaining flour.  Continue to knead and work dough for 5 to 8 minutes.  Divide dough in half.  Press or roll it out into a round or rectangle.  The other half of the dough is extra so you can either freeze it or roll it out into a blank and freeze that to be used later.  Let dough rise for up to an hour depending on the desired thickness of the crust.  I wanted a relatively thin crust so I let the dough rest for 15 minutes before baking at 375 for 15 minutes, or until browned.  Cool.

Spread beans across crust.  Mix together guacamole and sour cream and spread it across the beans.  Spread on salsa.  Sprinkle taco cheese and top with olives and tomato.  Slice into pieces and serve.

Turkey Pepperoni Bundles

I play around a lot with pizza dough....it's just such a useful thing with immense possibilities.  Anywho, I wanted to make a quick snackum for game night and this turned out nicely.  I probably didn't need the sprinkle of coarse salt across the top of the bundles....the pepperoni added plenty of salt.

You can use a refrigerated pizza dough from the store instead of making your own if you're in a hurry...but honestly pizza dough whips together really quickly....easiest yeast bread ever.

A side of marinara can be used for dipping, but I was happy with the rolls as is....I'm a bit of a bread nut though.  ;)


Turkey Pepperoni Bundles

Pizza Crust Dough
Turkey Pepperoni
Coarse Sea Salt
Egg White, lightly beaten

Divide your pizza dough into two portions.  Press one portion of dough out into a rough rectangle.  Place your pepperoni on the dough in columns, leaving a little space between each column.  Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the dough between the columns.  Roll each bundle up pinching the ends together to close the bundle off.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.  Repeat with remaining bundles and the second portion of dough.

Let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour.  A great spot is the oven with a mug/pan of steaming water in the bottom.

Brush the tops and side of the bundles with the egg white and sprinkle coarse salt across the tops.  Bake at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes or until rolls have a nicely browned look.  Cool on racks.

A couple more pics....

A little interior view of the goodies.  To add a little extra to the bundles, tuck in some sliced mozzarella cheese on top of the pepperoni before you roll them up.

This is how your dough should look before rolling up the bundles.  Don't forget to flour the surface your dough is sitting on otherwise rolling up the bundles can be a bit of a bear.....think super, sticky mess....cough....not that I know anything about that.  ;)

Stromboli Pizza

It's a cross between a stromboli and a pizza....and it's so very good.  The first version of this I made with deli meat in the stromboli...which turned the dish into an instant salt fest....tasty, but wow that was a ton of salt.  I decided to go for a more salt conscious second version.  I used some sliced, marinated chicken breast and it worked out beautifully.

I made small individual servings in this version since I was feeding just the hubby and myself....I turned my spare dough into pizza crust rounds for the freezer for future quick meals.  The first stromboli pizza I made as just two large servings since I was feeding a gathering of folks.  Gotta love a dish that adapts easily to your needs.  ;)

You can use pretty much any toppings you like...roasted peppers, sausage, spinach...whatever your taste buds cry out for.  The smaller serving size will let you tailor to specific tastes a whole lot easier.


Stromboli Pizza

Pizza Crust
Marinara Sauce
Marinated Chicken  (make a double batch)
Turkey Pepperoni
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Sliced Mozzarella Cheese (1 1/2 slices for each pocket works great)

Divide your pizza crust dough into 8 portions.  Press a  portion of dough out into a small, thin rectangle.  Place sliced chicken breast on one side of the dough.  Top with cheese slices.  Fold the other half of the dough over top forming a pocket and pinch closed.  Gently transfer your pocket to your greased baking sheet.  Repeat the process with the remaining portions of dough.

Let pockets rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes.  The oven is a wonderful spot for this when you put a steaming mug/pan of water inside.

Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes or until pockets are lightly browned.

Top pockets with marinara, a layer of shredded mozzarella, and turkey pepperoni.  Pop baking sheets back in the oven for another 10 to 12 minutes, until cheese is melted and pepperoni is a little crisp.  Nosh!


A couple more pics...

A bit of an interior view...though it is tough to see with all the cheese and sauce....I might be drooling a little now.  Any form of pizza hits my favorite food list.  ;)

I was tempted to call this dish strombolza...but that just made me giggle too much.

Flexible cutting mats are the perfect bread making surfaces.  I press my dough out with my hands, but a rolling pin works great too.  Shredded mozzarella can be used instead of sliced in this section, but the slices just keep things neater.

The pockets can be formed right on the baking sheet, but space can be a little tight.  When making two large servings instead of the smaller ones, definitely form them right on the baking sheet as they would be a disaster waiting to happen trying to move them around.

Pesto Chicken Pizza

I dub it the all purpose cilantro pesto.  It makes a quick and delicious sauce for a pizza.  I just realized I should have used some cheddar or jack cheese instead of mozzarella...oh well....next time. It's so easy to try out different toppings on pizza....really the sky is the limit.  This was something of a leftover pizza for me...leftover pesto and Mexican shredded chicken.  Normally I'd even have the crusts ready to go in the freezer, but I happened to be out. So nice when everything is already cooked and you just have to spread the toppings on.  ;)

You can use ready made crust or dough from the store instead of making it yourself if you are in a time crunch, but it's really simple to make your own.  Honestly, pizza crust is one of the easiest yeast breads to try out. 


Pesto Chicken Pizza

Mexican Shredded Chicken
Pizza Crust
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Cilantro Pesto
Goat Cheese

Top baked pizza crust with pesto and sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Spread chicken across cheese.  Sprinkle on a bit of goat cheese.  Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes until cheese is nicely melted.  Nom!


Another picture of the yummies...

Mmmm....pizza....so delicious and yet so easy to throw together.  I almost always do the individual sized pizzas, but then I generally customize the toppings to who's eating it.

Muffuletta Cold Pizza

I'd been wanting to try out a version of this pizza for quite a while....though I'd intended it to be a hot pizza not cold. ;) Yummy, but the recipe needed some tweaking. The olive salad mix actually needed to be spread over two pizzas instead of just the one. I also increased the amount of meat in the recipe below to balance things out a bit more. A note of caution....this is one salty dish with all the pickled vegetables and deli meat so dive in at your own risk. ;)

Mmmm....now were I to make the hot version of this pizza I would have brushed the crust with some Italian dressing, sprinkled it with mozzarella and provolone, topped it with the meats, and baked. The olive salad would have been piled on after it came out of the oven. Mmm...hungry now.


Muffuletta Cold Pizza

1 8oz tub reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
2 tsp bacon salt
1 16oz jar pickled vegetables (Mezzetta Italian Mix)
1 jar cocktail onions
6 oz (1/2 jar) picked pepper rings
5oz grape tomatoes
1 small can sliced black olives
1/2 cup zesty Italian dressing
1 pound cajun turkey
3 servings turkey pepperoni
Pizza Crust

Prepare the pizza crust, dividing the dough into two portions. Shape into either rounds or rectangles. I let my crusts rise about 30 minutes for a medium thick crust. Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. You can use some refrigerated bread dough if you need to save time, but pizza crust is one of the easiest things in the world to whip together.

Drain the pickled vegetables and cocktail onion and chop them up into smaller pieces. Toss them into a bowl. Drain the sliced black olives and add them to the bowl. Chop the tomatoes in half and add them to the bowl along with the pepper rings. Stir in the Italian dressing and mix everything together well. Let the olive salad marinate in the fridge for at least a couple hours.

Mix together cream cheese, sour cream, and bacon salt. Spread across cooled pizza crust. Chop turkey and pepperoni into small pieces and spread across the crust. Drain the excess Italian dressing off the olive salad and pile it on top of the crust. Slice into pieces with a pizza cutter and serve.


One more picture....
I definitely needed to divide the olive mixture between two pizzas.....mile high toppings. ;) That much olive salad just cries out for at least an inch of turkey and pepperoni underneath it...if I wasn't going to balance it out the sensible way of course.....when it doubt make it even bigger! ;)

Cheaty Pepperoni Pizza

Every time I make pizza crust I tuck some personal sized cooked pizza rounds into the freezer for easy meals down the road. Honestly, these whip up so quick I should feel guilty. ;) Just take one of the frozen rounds out about 30 minutes before you want to use it....though that isn't critical just a preference I have.

I generally use BBQ sauce as my pizza sauce but salsa, spaghetti sauce, hummus, pesto...pretty much whatever you can scrounge up in the fridge are all workable options. I top mine with some shredded cheese and turkey pepperoni....both of which I always have on hand. The sky's the limit with what you choose to put on as toppings though....bbq chicken, steak, onions, peppers, olives, spam (I can hear Paul's cries of.....zomg woman you never let me have that anymore!), feta, ect. Broil at 425 for about 10 minutes and the pizza is done. I use the toaster oven to cook mine.

Remember this is cheaty pizza....it's suppose to be quick and fun. ;) When I want the real deal I take the time to make pizza sauce and prep up specific toppings instead of whatever I scrounged up. I don't always feel like doing the whole nine yards though. ;)

Hummus Vegetable Pizza

Yet another cold pizza experiment. At some point I will run out of things I want to test out....maybe. ;) I was really torn with the direction to go on this one. I made it without meat and cheese. I couldn't decide if turkey pepperoni would go with the hummus....or feta. If I was making a hot pizza I would have topped it with monterey jack and it would have been dreamy. My official taste tester (aka beloved hubby) was at work so he wasn't available to try samples.

I made the crust and hummus, but if you are in a time crunch you can just pick up ready made items at the store. I always say homemade crust is the best though and pretty easy to whip up. ;) Hummus.....there are so many yummy varieties available....I could see a quick grab and go on that.


Hummus Vegetable Pizza

Pizza Crust
Hummus
1 anaheim pepper
1 banana pepper
1/2 zucchini
1 roma tomato
1 small can sliced olives
1/2 sweet onion

Prepare and bake the crust. I made a 12 inch circle. You will have extra dough to form additional crusts. These freeze well so form them up and bake them with the crust you are using immediately. I let the crusts rise for about 30 mins before baking them to a golden brown. Cool.

Prepare the hummus and let chill until ready to use.

Slice up the vegetables into nibble sized pieces and roast under the broiler for about 12 to 15 mins....basically when you like the color they are pop them out. Let them cool. Open and drain the olives.

Spread the hummus across the cooled crust. Top with roasted veggies and olives. Slice pizza into sections with pizza cutter. Chill until ready to serve.

Bruschetta Style Cold Pizza

I wasn't sure how this pizza would ultimately turn out with the mix of the dressing soaked tomatoes and the cream cheese...but it blended together nicely. Next time I will put a slightly thicker layer of the bruschetta topping across the top though. I was stretching what I had a bit so I skimped just a wee bit....ehehehe. The marinated tomatoes, onions, and olives made me think about the muffaletta olive salad mixture....pretty sure I'm going to have to try out a cold pizza appetizer that contains a topping like that. I thought I was done making pizza for a while too....rofl....but when an idea strikes you just have to roll with it. ;) Sidenote...I actually mixed a dressing for the tomatoes in this recipe....honestly I usually shortcut this step by using something bottled...either works fine in my humble opinion.

Bruschetta Style Cold Pizza

Pizza Crust
8 oz reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese
1/4 cup non fat sour cream
2 tsp bacon salt
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1 small sweet onion diced
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes sliced into halves and quarters
2 green onions chopped
2 tbls olive oil
1.5 tbls diced garlic
1/2 tbls basil
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp thyme
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 serving turkey pepperoni, cut into smaller pieces

Combine the onion, olives, and cherry tomatoes in a bowl. Whisk together the olive oil, garlic, basil, salt, black pepper, thyme, and balsamic vinegar. Pour over top of the vegetables and mix together. Let marinate in the fridge for a couple hours. You could use the mix immediately, but the flavor will be better if it gets a chance to sit.

Mix up your pizza crust. You can of course substitute a ready made crust from the store or pizza dough if you like.....but mixing your own is pretty easy. I spread half my dough into roughly a 9x13 shape. Don't be afraid to spread it out fairly thin. The other half of the dough I formed into rounds and 4x13 shape. I let the dough rise in a warm place for 30 mins before baking. If you are looking for a thicker crust just let it rise longer. Let the crust cool thoroughly after baking.

Mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, and bacon salt. (If you can't find bacon salt...any seasoned salt will work fine.) Spread across cooled crust. Spread the turkey pepperoni across the cream cheese mixture. Top with tomato/olive mixture. Use a slotted spoon when you are applying your marinated vegetables to your pizza or drain off the dressing before you use them. You want the flavor, but you don't want the vegetables to be drenched when you apply them to the pizza. Top the vegetables with the green onions. Slice with a pizza cutter and chill until ready to serve.

A few pics of the process...
I made a second style bruschetta pizza, but honestly I wasn't that impressed with it. It was ok, but not a must make again. Instead of the cream cheese it had standard mozzarella spread across the crust topped by turkey pepperoni and baked in a 375 oven for about 15 mins. After it was baked I topped it with the tomato mixture. It just seemed kind of boring.

Don't be afraid to spread your crust out nice and thin.....as long as you don't tear it you are gold. Your dough should be hard to tear though since it should have a nice elastic texture.

Extra crusts made with the other half of my dough. Normally I just do extra rounds, but I wanted to try out the second pizza style above. I do love to pizza crusts on hand in the freezer. A little bbq sauce makes a quick substitute for marinara. I almost always have shredded mozzarella cheese on hand and plenty of things to use as quick toppings.

Fresh Vegetable Pizza with Tzatziki

I think this uber hot summer is making me lean towards the cold pizza appetizers. ;) This turned out to be a great use for Tzatziki dip....and it just looked so very pretty. The quest for unusual appetizers continues!

Sidenote.....you don't have to make your own crust (though it's super easy to do so). Store bought crust would work or even some sliced, toasted bread in a pinch.


Fresh Vegetable Pizza with Tzatziki

4 to 5 cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 serving turkey pepperoni, chopped
1/2 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped
2 tbls sliced black olives
2 tbls low fat feta cheese
Tzatziki Dip
Pizza Crust

I made a slightly smaller size pizza crust when I tried out this recipe...it is 1/4 of the pizza crust recipe. Press the dough out into something like a 5x13 inch size and let rise for 30 mins before baking. (Bake up the other 3/4 recipe of extra dough into whatever crust shapes/sizes at the same time and freeze for later use.)

Spread the Tzatziki across the cooled crust. Top with pepperoni, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, and black olives. Sprinkle feta cheese across the top. Slice into easy to grab strips with a pizza cutter. Chill until ready to serve.

Cream Cheese Pizza

I've been tinkering with different appetizers looking for things that were a little unusual...a departure from the standard chips and dip. This cold pizza turned out nicely I think and I didn't have to worry about keeping it warm before serving...an added bonus to be sure.


Cream Cheese Pizza

1 tub (8oz) reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
2 tsp bacon salt*
pizza crust
small can sliced olives
1 sweet onion
1/4 of a zucchini
6 cherry tomatoes
2 anaheim peppers
1 serving turkey pepperoni

Prepare crust and let cool. (You could also use one of the tubes of pizza dough or a pre baked crust from the store as well....but honestly pizza dough is super easy to make.) I shaped my crust into something like a 9x13 rectangle, but a circle would work just as well. Spread your dough out nice and thin...let it rise in a warm place for 30 mins. The longer the rise time the thicker the crust you end up with. Of course you could also pop the crust straight into the oven if you wanted a thin crust....plenty of room for personal preference. Keep in mind the crust recipe will make 2 crusts so you will have an extra crust to play with later. I suggest popping it into the freezer as it keeps beautifully for later use.

Mix together cream cheese, sour cream, and bacon salt. Set aside. Slice onions, peppers, and tomatoes into nibble sized pieces. Use a peeler on the zucchini to make thin strips. Place the vegetables on a sprayed cookie sheet or foil and broil/roast the veggies at 425 to 450 until they get a little bit of color. While this is happening chop up the serving of turkey pepperoni into small pieces. Open and drain can of olives. Pull the veggies from the oven and let cool. Spread your cream cheese mixture on crust. Top with turkey pepperoni, zucchini, pepper, onions, cherry tomatoes, and olives. Slice pizza into portion sizes with a pizza cutter.....I did standard pizza slices but squares would work as well. Chill until ready to serve.

*If you can't find bacon salt...you poor s.o.b.'s.......any seasoned salt would work along with some added bacon pieces or bits.

And a pic of the process....
The veggies just look so pretty after they roast a bit. I could have let them go a bit longer for more color, but I was content with this stage. Tinker with different veggies to find a combination that suits your needs. A couple different pepper types instead of just one would probably be pretty interesting.....must try that next time I think.

Pizza Crust

Pizza dough is super easy to make and an excellent place to start if you are making your own bread. Even if it doesn't come out perfectly it is still going to be wonderfully tasty. Plus you can eat the evidence. Then of course you need to make more pizza for practice...it's like a win win no matter what.


Pizza Dough

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm skim milk
1 tbls oil
1 tbls raw honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milled flax
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tbls vital wheat gluten (optional)

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water from the tap. Mix in warm skim milk. (I heat mine in the microwave.) Stir in oil, honey, and salt. Mix in flax, wheat germ, and gluten. Mix in flour gradually. When the dough gets too stiff to continue stirring pour it out onto your work surface and knead in the remaining flour. Continue kneading for 8 minutes or so. Dough should be nice and elastic. You will have enough dough for 2 larger pizzas or 8 personal size ones.

Divide the dough into either 2 or 8 portions. I work the individual piece of dough in my hand to make sure it's the texture I'm looking for. Adding flour as needed...form it into roughly a round shape and as you turn the dough in your hand fold a third of it under with your other hand. Keep rotating the dough, turning the edges under. When you're happy with the dough (think sturdy and elastic here) drop it onto a greased cookie sheet and spread it out into the shape of your pizza....round...square...whatever you want. The dough will resist you a bit so you'll have to work to stretch it out. When you have your crusts all formed up let your pizza rise for at least 15 minutes in a warm spot. If you want a thicker crust let it rise for an hour.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the crust is lightly browned. (You want to pre bake your crusts to avoid a soggy pizza when you add the sauce and toppings.)


And now a couple pics of the process...

I do a combination of fold and knead when working my dough. I will fold half the dough over and then fold it over again before kneading it for a bit. Then I repeat. It works for me, but experiment to find out what works best for you. ;)

Don't be afraid to spread the dough out fairly thin.....the rise time you give it will poof it back up to a nice thickness with no worries. The dough should be nice and elastic so you shouldn't have any problems with tearing.

Calzones

Yummy, yummy calzones! I used to make a more traditional calzone in the pre-heart attack days....huge pockets stuffed with ground beef, italian sausage, cheese, and pepperoni. It was bread filled heaven I tell you. Our needs are different now, however, so the pockets are much smaller and stuffed with a bit different ingredients. The leftovers get frozen for easy meals later on. This shouldn't stop anyone from going the traditional route. Stuff the calzones with what tickles your taste buds.

Calzones

Marinara:
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbls garlic, diced
1/2 tbls olive oil
14.5 oz petite diced onions, no salt added
1 tbls lemon juice
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp sweet basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cajun seasoning

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. When the vegetables are tender stir in everything except the corn starch. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes over medium low heat. If you're incorporating your marinara with your filling, the sauce is finished. If you plan to serve it on the side for dipping, add in 1 tbls corn starch. When sauce has thickened, remove from heat.

Pickled Cabbage:
1/2 to 3/4 head of green cabbage sliced up
apple cider vinegar
slice of onion
a few slices of pepper
1 tsp pickling spices
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic

I usually do 50% water to 50% vinegar in a saucepan. Put your pickling spices in a tea ball and dangle it from the side of the pot. Toss in all your vegetables and spices. Bring pot to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for about 15 mins. Drain and set aside when finished.

Filling:
1 lb lean ground turkey (I used 99%)
1.5 tbls olive oil
1 onion
2 banana peppers
1 tbls garlic
2 tbls apple cider vinegar
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
dash of paprika
-Turkey Pepperoni (used later when you actually put your filling in the calzone)
- 2 cups Finely Shredded Mozzarella (used later when you actually put your filling in the calzone)

Cook meat, onion, garlic, and peppers in olive oil over med to med-high heat until meat is cooked through. Stir in seasonings and apple cider vinegar. Cook another 5 minutes or so. Add marinara and picked cabbage to the filling and stir it all together. (If you are serving your marinara on the side just add the pickled cabbage and the filling is finished.) Let the filling cook for another 15 to 20 minutes to allow the liquid to reduce down and cook out. While your filling is finishing up mix up your dough.

Dough:
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm skim milk
1 tbls oil
1 tbls raw honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milled flax
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tbls vital wheat gluten

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water from the tap. Mix in warm skim milk. I heat mine in the microwave. Stir in oil, honey, and salt. Mix in flax, wheat germ, and gluten. Mix in flour gradually. When the dough gets too stiff to continue stirring pour it out onto your work surface and knead in the remaining flour. Continue kneading for 8 minutes or so. Divide in 8 pieces. (If you want larger portion sizes 4 pieces.)

Take one of the 8 pieces and work it into a ball. Your dough should be quite elastic....if it's not, work it some more. On a greased cookie sheet, press your ball of dough out into a thin circle. Line half of the dough with a layer of turkey pepperoni. Put a mound of filling on top of the pepperoni followed by a layer of cheese. Fold the other side of the dough up over the layered mound of filling and press the edges together to form your pocket. Repeat for the other portions of dough.

If you want your calzones to have a puffy, thicker crust cover them and let them rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or so. If you want to stay with the thinner crust pop them right into a 375 degree oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until the calzones are nicely browned.


Some pictures of the process....

I remember the days where I could just pop open a can of sauerkraut and I was good to go. ;) Do I need to say super salty? Anywho this is my work around where I can still have a kick of extra flavor, but not the overload of salt. A tea ball works great to hold the pickling spices for the cabbage.

The picked cabbage, marinara, and turkey are all ready to be incorporated together and begin the cook down process. Honestly I could probably drain the diced tomatoes at the very beginning before I added them to the marinara sauce....but I think there would be less in the flavor dept.

Yummy, yummy filling all cooked down and ready to stuff into calzones.

Be careful that you don't overfill your pockets or you will have trouble closing them. You will also risk tearing your dough or stretching it to thin if they are too full. If you do end up with a hole, you can nip off a little bit of dough from one of the corners of the pocket and do a little dough patching. Not pretty, but it works.

A pocket all nicely formed and ready to either go into the oven or rise for 30 minutes. Make sure you pinch the edges together firmly. You don't want your edges to pop open on you during baking.

Marinara Sauce

This is my all purpose marinara sauce...man I love this sauce. I use this for my pizza sauce, as well as, the usual dipping marinara. It keeps nicely in the fridge so it's easy to make this a day ahead of time if you need to. Freezing tends to make it a wee bit watery but it will still taste yummy. Overall though....super quick to whip up....which is pretty much a theme of a lot of things I make...ehehe. The diced tomatoes give a little extra kick in flavor, but I originally started using them because tomato sauce has insane amounts of salt in it.


Marinara Sauce

1 small onion, chopped
1 tbls garlic, diced
1/2 tbls olive oil
14.5 oz petite diced tomatoes, no salt added
1 tbls lemon juice
2 tsp sugar*
1 1/2 tsp sweet basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tbls corn starch dissolved in water

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. When the vegetables are tender stir in everything except the corn starch. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes over medium low heat. Stir in corn starch. When sauce has thickened, remove from heat.

*Generally I just use a packet of Truvia