Homemade Calzones

Part 1: The Dough

Here’s what you need:

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1 package)
1 teaspoon of honey
1 cup warm water
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (might need to add ¼ to ½ cup more)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil


In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and honey in ¼ cup warm water. then, in a medium size bowl combine the flour and the salt. Add the oil, the yeast mixture, and the remaining ¾ cup water. Use a wooden spoon and mix the dough together. About 3 to 5 minutes of stirring should do. If it seems too dry do the opposite and add a bit more water.

Flip the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead it by hand for 2 or 3 minutes. dough should be smooth and firm. Place it in a lightly oiled bowl an cover it up with plastic wrap. Let it sit and rise for about 30-45 minutes. When ready the dough should stretch when lightly pulled.

Take the dough out of the bowl and divide it into 2 to 4 equal sized balls. Now knead each ball for a few minutes. Place them again inside a bowl. Preferably a separate bowl for each, and cover with a damp cloth. Let them sit for about 15 to 20 minutes.

You can either use it immediately or place it in zip-lock bags and freeze it. It’s good for a couple days.

Part 2: The Ingredients

Flip the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead it by hand for 2 or 3 minutes, the dough should be smooth and firm. Place it in a lightly oiled bowl an cover it up with plastic wrap. Let it sit and rise for about 30-45 minutes. When ready the dough should stretch when lightly pulled.

Take the dough out of the bowl and divide it into 2 to 4 equal sized balls. Now knead each of them for a few minutes. Place them again inside a bowl. Preferably a separate bowl for each, and cover with a damp cloth. Let them sit for about 15 to 20 minutes.

You can either use it immediately or place it in zip-lock bags and freeze it. It’s good for a couple days.

You Can add any of your favorite pizza toppings to the calzone. I used pepperoni, mozzerella, green pepppers and ham. You want to use 2 to 3 cups of ricotta Cheese mixed with an egg. Add any kind of seasoning you'd like.

Part 3: Assembling the Calzone

Get out the dough balls and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a few pizza pans.
Take your first ball of dough and begin flattening it out on your first pizza pan, Get it as round as possible. Don’t make it too thin. You want the dough to be about ¼ inch thick.

Once you have the dough flattened out into a nice circle it’s time to add the ingredients. Add ingredients to only one side of the dough, and don’t get too close to the edge. Keep your filling about ¼ inch way from the edge of the dough. Start with your ricotta. Then add in your meat and veggies, finally top that off with mozzarella cheese. Don't over stuff..

Now, once you have all your fillings in place you need to grab the empty side of the dough and wrap it over the fillings. Now you should have a half-circle. Roll the edges of the dough together and close everything up.

Get one more egg and beat it in a small bowl. Dip a paper towel in the egg and use that to brush egg over the top of your dough. Just enough to wet it. This will make the crust bake up nice and crispy. Now sprinkle a little more Romano cheese on top.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes till golden brown. It’s going to rise a bit more in the oven. Once you take it out of the oven let it cool, before cutting.

Use your favorite pizza or spaghetti sauce for dipping.



http://thingsbymike.com/mikes-calzone-recipe/

French Dip

This is Jason's favorite dinner. Very easy and I got it from Rachael Ray a few years back and probably have made it once a month, since I found it.

1 wide baguette
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 small onion, chopped
2 large clove garlic, divided, 1 chopped, 1 crushed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups beef stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound sliced roast beef
6 slices provolone cheese

Preparation

kitchen tips Slice baguette open lengthwise just shy of actually completely splitting it open; you want it to open like a book and stay together. Then cut the bread in half so that you have 2 books. Transfer the bread to a cookie sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown, 8-10 minutes, or toast under the broiler but keep an eye on it so it doesnt burn! Once the bread is toasted, rub cut side with the crushed clove of garlic then drizzle it with a little EVOO and cover it with grated cheese.

While the bread is toasting, heat a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add onion, chopped garlic, tomato paste and rosemary, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook until the onions start to get soft about 2-3 minutes. Add beef stock, bring up to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes to let the flavors come together.

Using tongs swish a few slices of roast beef at a time through the hot broth then transfer to the cheesy garlic bread. Once all the roast beef has been mounded on the bread, top each half with 3 slices of provolone cheese and transfer to the broiler or oven to melt the cheese.





http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/french-dip-with-italian-attitude/

Granola Bars

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. 2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. 3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

I got this recipe from Allrecipe.com

Cookie dough truffles

These are so good, you can't just eat 1. I had seen a bunch of recipes of these that calls for sweetned condensemilk which I didn't have so I found this recipe that works great without it. Delaney loved helping me make And roll These.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

(recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar d
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons skim milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

beat on medium speed until well combined. Add the milk and vanilla and mix again. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the flour.

Put the whole bowl in the fridge for about 15 minutes, so the dough hardens a little bit – this will make it easier to shape it into balls since it won’t be so sticky.

Next, just shape them into 2 inch balls.
You can dip these in chocolate or rolling them in coconut or crushed nuts.

Sarah's Pasta Salad

I know pasta salad isn't hard to make. You can add just. About anything you want to it. But I have been pasta salad crazy, this summer and making it as much as possible. Here is my versionn of pasta salad.

1 lb of bow tie pasta, cooked, drained and rinsed with cold water
1 cucumber, cut up
1 tomato, cut up
1 pepperoni stick, cut up
1 cup of deli ham, sliced
1 1b of pepper jack cheese, cut up
1 bottle of Zesty Italian dressing (I Prefer Walmart brand)

Mix all ingredients and only a small amount of salad dressing. Refrigerate until Ready to use. Right before serving mix in more salad dressing. Mix well.

*Of course you can add whatever else you want to it. Black olives, salami.