Calzones

Calzones are all about the ingredients. Exciting blends of herbs, cheeses and vegetables make them worth eating. One of my favorite things to do is cook up a batch of 4 or 8 calzones, eat one fresh for dinner and freeze the rest. They stay good for ages and are just as delicious after freezing and thawing as they are when they’re fresh.

Healthy Alternatives

Eat healthier by decreasing the quantity of cheese and upping the amount of veggies you put in. This will dramatically lower the calories from fat in each calzone while keeping them nice and plump.

Shake it up!

Cater to different tastes, or just keep variety by adding slightly different ingredients to each calzone. Put meat in some, or top with different herbs or veggies, like smoked gouda or sun-dried tomatoes.

Ingredients: General Tips

Throw together your own combination of cheeses, vegetables, meats and herbs, or use one of these recipes. In general, you want to soften any veggies you are adding, and make sure any meat is fully cooked. Add cheese to cool ingredients only, so it doesn’t melt before the calzone is cooked in the oven.

Pepper and Onion Calzones

Ingredients:
1 tsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 red pepper, halved width-wise and cut into thin strips
1 green pepper, halved width-wise and cut into thin strips
1 medium onion, cut into very thin strips
1/4 tsp. thyme
¼ tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
4 oz. herbed goat cheese, crumbled
½ c. mozzarella cheese, shredded (pre-shredded bagged works great)

Directions:
In a large skillet on medium-high, heat the oil then add the red pepper flakes. Cook for 30 seconds then add the peppers, onion, salt, pepper and thyme. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. The vegetables are done when the onion has become opaque and the peppers are soft yet still have some crunchiness. Remove from heat, place in a bowl and cover. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes until cool or room-temperature, so that the cheeses won’t melt when added. When cooled, add in the cheeses and stir to blend. Seal as described below.

Preparing Calzones

After you’re done with the filling, divide the thawed dough into four equal parts (or more, if you’re doubling the batch) Do this as late in the process as possible, as once exposed to air the dough can dry out rapidly. Remove one portion, and cover up the remaining parts. Place the dough ball onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a flat circle, around 7-8 inches in diameter.

Take a portion of the filling (¼ if you’re making four calzones) and mound it on one-half of the dough. Fold the dough over the filling, to create a half-moon shape. Press the edges together well and press them together with a fork or braid them, if you know how (this makes a prettier appearance).

Spaghetti Sauce

Store-bought sauces tend to be high in fat and sugar, relying on this instead of herbs and vegetables to create flavor. Making homemade spaghetti sauce is very easy and much healthier, but I tend to end out with a massive batch. Freezing the sauce in single-serve portions lets me enjoy low-fat, flavorful spaghetti for ages.

Freezing Spaghetti Sauce

In some ways, this is the hardest part of the process. Saving the sauce in a large container is a no-go, because chipping out frozen portions of sauce is nearly impossible to do. Small sealed plastic bags are okay, but they tend to freeze in strange shapes around the sauce, making it hard to free and microwave. I prefer small freezer-friendly plastic bowls with lids, which allows me to cook up one-person portions at any time and creates an airtight seal in the freezer. Try placing a small piece of plastic wrap over the sauce inside the bowl before sealing it, as this will help prevent frost burn.

Thawing and Reheating Spaghetti Sauce

Pop your single-sized brick of frozen sauce in an appropriately shaped pan and heat it on medium-low heat. Cooking it at too high a temperature will make the parts that first thaw tend to burn onto the pan, as well as bubble and spatter everywhere.

If it won’t come out of the container, put it in the microwave on defrost for a minute or two (make sure the container is microwave-safe!) or let it sit on the counter until the sauce thaws enough to be spooned out.

Buying Ingredients

Organic, fresh produce is always the best, complemented by flavorful spices.

Dough for Calzones

A one-pound loaf of frozen bread dough will provide enough dough for four individually-sized calzones. You can make your own dough if you want, but the frozen dough re-freezes wonderfully and cooks well, plus all you have to do is thaw it out.

Tip: Thaw Frozen Bread Dough Overnight

If you’re busy, try taking out the dough the night before you plan to start cooking. Put it in a large bowl or bread pan and cover it with plastic, then stick it in the refrigerator overnight. Keeping the dough well covered is important, otherwise it will dry out. 

Feta Cheese, Tomato and Olive Calzones

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red onion, chopped
6 mushrooms, sliced
15-20 cherry tomatoes
10 black olives, pitted and chopped
6 tbsp. tomato sauce
¾ c. crumbled feta cheese
¼ c. parmesan cheese
½ tsp. dried basil
Black pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, add the onions, garlic and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add whole tomatoes, dried basil and chopped olives, cook for five minutes stirring frequently until tomatoes are soft but still whole. Remove from heat and let cool.

Roll out the dough, as described below. Spoon ¼ of the tomato sauce over the flattened dough, leaving an empty 2-inch border around the outside. Add ¼ of the filling, along with ¼ of both cheeses and a sprinkling of black pepper. Seal as described below.

Freezing Calzones

One thing I must have in my kitchen is Glad Press’n’Seal Freezer Wrap. This stuff is excellent for sealing foods in an airtight, custom-sized pouch. It helps prevent freezer burn and is quite affordable.

Thawing Calzones

When you remove a calzone from the freezer, open up a small hole in whatever you’ve frozen it in and put it in the microwave on defrost for 3-5 minutes, depending on the strength of your microwave. I like to start mine thawing upside-down, then flip it over halfway through; it tends to thaw better that way. Cooking time may go up a bit if you’ve frozen the calzone, seeing as the stuff inside is frozen, but thawing it out first prevents the crust from burning before the inside is cooked through.

Cooking Calzones

Place the calzone directly on a baking tray, or on a tray covered with lightly greased aluminum foil (this makes cleanup very easy). Bake at 375 F for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is firm and golden-brown.

Basic Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:
14 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
½ of a 6 oz. can of tomato paste
1 tsp. olive oil
½ medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
Herbs, to taste: Italian seasoning, basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano

Directions:
In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, add the onion, pepper and mushrooms and cook, stirring often for 5 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add both cans of tomatoes, the red pepper flakes and herbs. Stir well and wait until the sauce begins to boil. Reduce heat to very low and cover. The longer you let the sauce simmer, the more the flavors will combine. After a few minutes, stir the sauce again and taste it for flavor. Add more herbs, if necessary. After 15 minutes or so, turn off the heat and let the sauce cool. Use it right away or spoon it into containers and freeze for later use.

Fresh Ingredients, Many Herbs

Fresh ingredients and a variety of herbs gives any meal an extra kick. Even if I’m just reheating spaghetti sauce and cooking up some pasta, I like to stop by the store and pick up a fresh loaf of bread or some fresh vegetables to make a small salad.

A wide assortment of spices lets me flavor any meal or sauce in new and interesting ways. This is definitely more of a guess-and-check thing, as I tend to throw in whatever looks good and see if it works out or not.