"Homemade" Veggie Calzones

Once in a while dinnertime is upon us, and I feel like my family hasn't met their veggie goal for the day. I usually throw together a salad to go with whatever we are eating, and load it up with peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and other veggies.

Tonight I decided to do something a little more fun. I had two balls of Trader Joe's pizza dough in my fridge, and thought veggie calzones were the way to go. I rummaged through the fridge/freezer and came up with a few things to toss in (I always have tomatoes and garlic on hand, and my cheese drawer is pretty consistently stocked).

I ended up making two calzones, one with peppers and mushrooms, and one with spinach, peppers, and crushed red pepper.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup flour (to flour your work surface)

Two balls of Trader Joe's pizza dough (fresh, delicious, and only $0.99 each!)

1 cup chopped sweet peppers (I used red, yellow, and orange)

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

1/2 cup organic frozen chopped spinach

2 cups organic shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup grated parmesan

2 cans stewed tomatoes

8 fresh garlic cloves

1/4 cup olive oil

1 t crushed red pepper

I started by putting the garlic cloves and cans of stewed tomatoes in the food processor. I blended them for about 20 seconds. This sauce was used for the inside of the calzones, as well as a dipping sauce for the table.


The directions on the pizza dough say to let it stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before using.

After 20 minutes, flour your work surface, and roll out the first ball of dough. Use a spoon to spread the tomato sauce on the dough, then top with 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Add the mushrooms and half the peppers, then fold the "pizza" in half, and pinch around the edges to form a calzone.

Do the same thing to the second one, but add the crushed red pepper to the sauce, top with cheese and the remaining veggies, and fold over and pinch into a calzone.

Brush the top of each calzone with olive oil, and top with the shredded parmesan. Place them both on an olive oil greased baking sheet and stick in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Check to make sure the dough is cooked all the way through. Serve with a side of tomato sauce and enjoy!

Sausage and Veggie Spaghetti Sauce

The fall weather took over this past week, which put me in the mood to use my crock pot. There is nothing better than a warm home filled with the aroma of something simmering or stewing in a slow cooker on a cool day.

I decided to come up with a new spaghetti sauce that all three of us (me, my husband, and my 9 month old) could enjoy. This meant omitting one of my favorite ingredients, crushed red pepper. I'm not sure my daughter is ready for such spicy food, although she has quite a broad palate for a baby (she loves my chili!) :-)


I picked up some ingredients at Trader Joe's (one of my favorite grocery stores), and got to work! Here is what I used:

Trader Joe's sweet pork sausage (large hot dog-sized links, and I squeezed the sausage out of the casings)
2/3 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh garlic
One organic red pepper
One organic yellow pepper
8 organic white mushrooms
One can of stewed tomatoes (already had in the pantry, not from TJ's)
1/8 cup olive oil
One can of organic tomato sauce (not from TJ's)
One can of organic diced tomatoes
One TBSP brown sugar
1/2 tspn oregano
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

First, squeeze the pork sausage out of the casings into a hot skillet. Cook the meat, drain the grease, then set the meat aside.

Chop up the red and yellow peppers and mushrooms and set aside.

Use a food processor to finely chop the garlic and basil together (if you don't have a food processor, just chop them up as finely as you can with a knife). Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil, turn it on medium heat, and add the garlic/basil mixture to the olive oil.


About one minute later, add the chopped up peppers and mushrooms.


While the veggies are cooking, be sure to use a spatula to mix and turn them so they don't burn.

Add all of the tomatoes to the food processor and mix for about 10 seconds. Pour the mixture into the same skillet. Add one TBSP of brown sugar and stir it all together. Add the sausage.

Now, everything is in one skillet simmering together. You should continue to turn and mix as it cooks. Add salt and pepper and taste as you go. You can also add some oregano to taste.

After about five more minutes, transfer it all into your slow cooker. Turn it on the low setting and cover. Simmer for 6-8 hours.

I served it over whole wheat angel hair, and added a side salad of mixed greens, cucumbers, strawberries, toasted almonds, and a white balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing. Delicious! (I would have definitely preferred more of a kick, but like I mentioned earlier, I wanted my daughter to be able to eat it. For a spicier version, add 1 TBSP of crushed red pepper to the sauce while it is simmering on the stove. I also would have added a chopped up yellow onion, but I forgot to buy one and wasn't running to the store for just one item!)