Manic Monday Meals ~ Calzone Showdown ... (Take your pick Chicken or Beef + a Dough recipe)

HOLY smokes it's Monday can you believe it? I really think that the weekends are flying by faster and faster. On my mission to make a new meal each night I came across a beef calzone recipe that called for a frozen bread dough. Of course that doesn't fly here so I went on a search for a homemade version. The one I found was awesome for a bread maker & it made enough for 2 so then I went for search for a second recipe :). I hope you enjoy!!

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Calzone Dough (also can use for Pizza)

by Life as Mom

Pizza or Calzone Dough
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup olive oil
4 1/2 cups bread flour (can substitute some whole wheat flour)
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon yeast

Place ingredients in bread machine according to manufacturer’s directions. Different makers dictate different order of ingredients. My machine says to add liquids first, then dry ingredients, then flour in a little well. I omit the little well part and it works out just fine.

Make sure to scrape down the sides while it’s mixing. Add a little flour if too wet, a little water if too dry.

At the end of the dough cycle, remove from pan to lightly floured or oiled surface. Divide into six equal portions. Place in an oiled 9×13-inch pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (The cold rising gives the dough great texture, nice and chewy.)

ALEXIS NOTES: I did substitute with the whole wheat flour and sugar substitute. This was the BEST dough I have had in a long time. I can't wait to try it for pizza!

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Chicken Broccoli Calzone

by hubpages.com

1-Lb of Fresh Store bought dough

4-Lbs of Boneless Chicken any kind works

2-Packs frozen broccoli (6 ounces)

½ Lb sliced Mild Provolone cheese

½ Lb Shredded Mozzarella

2-Cloves of chopped garlic

1-Cup Italian style bread crumbs

1-Small Container of Sesame seeds

1-Roll Non-stick Foil

¼ Cup Olive Oil

¼ Cup Vegetable Oil

Salt & pepper

Flour

2-Egg beaten

Take any boneless chicken, and you want to dip into beaten eggs, on both sides, then pure your bread crumbs seasoning mixed in a bowl, dip you Chicken into the bread crumb mix on both sides coating it well.

Then add all your coated chicken to a heated frying pan with vegetable oil, until chicken is golden brown on both sides, you don’t want To over cook chicken, because, its going to cook more In the calzone.

After chicken is all cook, place out of you way and let

It cool for a while.

Next boil your frozen broccoli for 10 minutes or so, and drain well and put aside for layering later.

On a floured flat surface you want to stretch out you Dough, and roll it all out until it doesn’t stretch any More, and make it in an oval shape for stuffing use plenty of flour this will ease some of the sticking.

Stuffing a calzone is pretty simple but there are some Good tips, you never put any thing wet on the bottom Or the top of the calzone, it will make the dough wet And impossible to work with, layer your provolone, On the bottom towards the center of the calzone all The way across.Then take you’re cooled off, chicken and Layer that on top of the provolone cheese, next you Need to add your broccoli Across the top of the chicken, try to keep as even as possible, add your chopped garlic to the top of the broccoli, with salt and pepper.

Add Shredded mozzarella to the top for the final layer this will keep the dough from getting soggy from the broccoli while cooking.

Fold the top of the dough over the calzone and adjust The layers if needed, then you to take a fork and Crimp all the edges of the dough to keep from coming Apart, poke a few holes in the top for air flow.

Now come the tricky part of getting this calzone in The oven, as long as you maintained a floured flat Surface you should be able to slide the calzone on the Non-stick foil it’s a challenge, but its worth it, what I Do, is take out one of the racks from the oven before I Turn it on, put the calzone right on that with non-Stick foil, also keep a layer of foil on the bottom of The oven is case anything drips out while cooking.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees and place your calzone In the middle of the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until there’s a golden brown color.

And just before you pull out of the oven and add some more mozzarella to the top, it gives the calzone A nice finished look.

Then cool off for about 10 to 12 minutes and cut and Serve, with the marinara sauce on the side.

ALEXIS NOTES: I simplified this recipe a bit, it was a great recipe but a lot of steps :). I cut the chicken into strips, next time I'll do cubes. I used fresh broccoli and steamed it. I only had mozerella, skipped the sesame seeds and didn't brush at the end. Over all a good recipes.

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Beef & Broccoli Calzone

by The Freezer Chicks

1 lb. Ground beef, browned until crumbly and drained
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
½ c. chopped onion
¾ c. sour cream
¼ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Garlic powder
½ tsp. Italian seasoning
1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed

To FREEZE: Combine ground beef with other ingredients (except bread dough) in a bowl. Roll our bread dough to a 9”x13” rectangle. Spoon filling onto one side of the dough, leaving a border of dough on three sides. Fold over bare side of dough and pinch ends together. Spray lightly with cooking spray and wrap in plastic wrap. Wrap again in tin foil and freeze.

To COOK: Thaw overnight in refrigerator. Unwrap calzone and place on cookie sheet. Loosely cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Allow to rise, but not double. Cook 20-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven until golden. Slice and serve.

ALEXIS NOTES: I used the calzone dough that I did put in the freezer and took out the day before. I used fresh broccoli and steamed it. This was absolutely FAB and my favorite!!!