Making the Perfect Pizza Calzone!

When life gets a little crazy, sometimes comfort food is the only answer.  That is how I feel about pizza and calzones.  As long as I have known Mark, he has made this calzone recipe.  I love that it’s really easy and you can experiment with different ingredients. Very much like a pizza, you can add whatever fillers you want to.  You can decide to fill it with only meat, or only veggies  or a great combination.  That is what we like to do!  It’s also great re-heated the next day.First thing you want to do is gather and chop up your toppings.  In this calzone, we used pepperoni, ham, onion, green pepper, black and green olives and of course cheese.  It’s a good idea to make each topping bite size so it’s easier to eat.

You can make your own dough or buy one already made.  Check out my Homemade Pizza Crust post on making your own dough.  It’s really easy and you don’t even need a bread maker.  Before you start, spread flour on your surface, rolling pin and hands.  This will help keep the dough in one piece.  Flatten your dough into a rectangular shape.

Then start adding your toppings.  Start with the cheese.  You want the cheese on the bottom and top.  Add the toppings down the middle of the dough.  It makes it easier to roll.

Add each of the toppings along the row down the middle.  At this point you can also decide to add certain toppings to only half to please all of your diners (very much like a pizza).

Then cover with your final layer of Mozzarella cheese.

This is the important step because you want to keep all the filling inside the calzone and not fall out during the baking process.  So take one side and roll it over the entire middle of toppings.  You will need to crimp the ends to keep it all in.

It will look like this.

Then roll the opposite side over the entire calzone.  It will look more like a burrito at this point.

This is a great recipe to get the kids involved with.  Place the calzone on a cooking sheet with aluminum foil.  Generously butter the top of the calzone.

Then add some garlic powder and oregano for flavor.  The butter will help make the crust crispy like a pizza.  The herbs are for flavor.

After about 30 minutes in a 450 degree oven, your calzone will look like this.

And when you cut it open, it will look like this.

We love to cut it into bite size slices and add pizza or pasta sauce.  This keeps it warm and adds a final touch to this delicious and healthy meal.  Bon Appetite!

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Making the Perfect Pizza Calzone!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 4 -5 people

Ingredients

• Pizza Dough store bought or homemade
• 1 package Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 package Pepperoni
• Cooked Ham
• 1 Green Pepper
• 1 Red Onion
• Handful Green Olives
• Handful Black Olives
• 5 Mushrooms
• All Purpose Flour
• Butter
• Oregano
• Garlic Powder
• Pizza or Pasta Sauce

Instructions

1. Using your bread maker follow instructions for pizza dough -- or use store bought pizza dough
2. Sprinkle flour on counter, rolling pin and hands
3. Roll out dough into rectangular shape
4. Sprinkle one layer of Mozzarella cheese down center of dough
5. Start adding toppings, pepperoni, ham, onions, green pepper, black olives and green olives
6. Top it off with more shredded Mozzarella cheese
7. Take one side of dough and bring all the way over the center toppings
8. Crimp both ends to tighten the dough bundle
9. Bring second half over the bundle -- it should look like a closed burrito when you are done
10. Spread a healthy amount of butter on top of calzone
11. Sprinkle garlic powder and oregano on top
12. Cook in oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes
13. Cut slices and add pizza or pasta sauce on top for taste

Recipe Notes

There are many substitutes that can be made to this recipe. You can use Italian sausage as the meat or other veggies. This is a great recipe to play around with and experiment a little. Enjoy!