Grilled Vegetable Pesto Calzones

I don't really have any excuse for being away for so long except that I haven't really been making anything new! 

I did however try a little something different for Ash Wednesday.  It was inspired by this cooking show I've been watching on Netflix called "Oliver's Twist".  I think it's an old Jamie Oliver series.  I don't think it aired over here, because all of the measurments and instructions are in metric.

In one of the last episodes he makes some calzones.  He makes sweet ones, these aren't them.  Then he makes some rolls (shaped like cinnamon rolls) but with roasted vegetables, tomato sauce, and cheese in them.  They were shaped like cinnamon rolls, but they were savory.  Well, I got both of these ideas mixed in my head somehow and went slightly more traditional with the calzone and made a savory version. 

It's not much of a recipe, but it was fun and the results were tasty for Jon's one meal of the day on Ash Wednesday.  I'd be fasting, but that probably wouldn't be so great for the baby. 

Here's what I did.

Veggie Pesto Calzones

Ingredients
2lb pizza dough (recipe here)

1 eggplant sliced lengthwise

2 zuchini sliced into thick sticks

1/2 onion cut into large chunks

1/4 red pepper sliced

1/4 yellow pepper sliced

1/4 orange pepper sliced

1/4 green pepper sliced

(If I had portabello mushrooms I would have used a couple of those.  If I had remembered I would have also added chopped spinach)


1/4c pesto sauce (recipe here)
salt and pepper to taste
cheese to taste (I use the same Italian blend that I use for pizza)


Directions

1.  Begin by grilling or roasting all of your vegetables.  I grilled mine on the George Foreman because I thought it would be faster for some reason, but in retrospect it seems like everything would have gone faster if I had just roasted all the veggies on one large baking sheet for like 20 minutes in the oven.

2.  Chop up the larger chunks of veggies and toss with pesto sauce.

3.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

4.  Divide your pizza dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each into a 8 inch circle.



I don't know why I deviated with this one, but I put the cheese down first.  Eh, whatever floats your boat!



5.  Fill half of your dough circle with the veggie-pesto filling and sprinkle with as much cheese as you want.

6.  Fold the other half of the circle over and pinch the edges together.  Fold the edges over themselves almost like you're twisting the dough over halfway.  Tuck in the last edge.  Repeat with all your pieces of dough.

7.  Cut one or two slits in the tops of each calzone and bake for 15-20 minutes on a parchment lined cookie sheet until they're golden brown.



This is what the inside looked like after it was baked!



8.  Eat them while they're hot or cool on wire racks (don't leave them on the baking sheet, or else they'll get soggy) and pack them for lunch!  

They're just a little something different from veggie pizza and they're slightly more portable.  The kids had fun with them too!

Happy Lent!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Dear God,

  as we begin our Lenten journey help us to constantly keep our focus on you.  Help us to remember your sufferings more than our own and to join our small sacrifices with your ultimate sacrifices.  Show us how to be your friends along your sorrowful journey to the cross.  Amen. 

Pete Repete etc...

My mom emailed this morning worried about me.  She asked if everything was okay.  Why you ask?  Because I didn't post on my blog!!  Ha ha ha!!

Last night was the Feast of All Saints Day (All Hallows, All Holies, etc)!  So we went to Mass and celebrated by having homemade pizza.  Since I've made this already and blogged about it I didn't write a post.  I was also pretty exhausted by the time we got home from Mass and put the kiddos to bed.  So sorry blogosphere, I neglected you last night.

The pizza was pretty awesome though.  I didn't get a shot until after Mass, so you don't get the full pizza effect in that photo.  I hope you'll be satisfied with a slice.

We had it with onions, artichoke hearts, spinach, sausage, mushroom, green pepper...I think that's all.  But it was fantastic.  I love putting artichoke hearts on pizza!!  You should try it if you haven't before. 

Tonight I'm making......adobo.  Ha ha!  So once again you'll be left without a blog post.  Sorry folks, I have to start repeating some things after a while or else I'll go nuts.  I'm making it with pork though, so if you're just dying for a photo of it maybe I'll post one later.  You'll have to let me know in the comments though.   

If you missed the recipe for Homemade Pizza click HERE!!

If you missed the recipe for Adobo click HERE!

Don't worry, I'm sure something exciting will beg for me to cook it soon.  Hmm....what to make for dinner tomorrow....

Today is the Feast of All Souls day where we remember all those who have gone before us.

In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dear God,
  we thank you for the Saints and their example of holiness in the world.  Help us to remember all our loved ones and pray for their souls on this Holy Feast of All Souls.  Amen!

It's not delivery, it's....Val's homemade pizza

We've been having a lot of pizza lately.  Unfortunately most of it has been pizza hut.  Tonight however, was not pizza hut and it was much, much, better.  It was likely much healthier for us too!

I've been making my own pizza since my mom gave me her old (like older than me) bread machine a few years ago.  It was a good starter machine.  I had fun exploring the world of dough and bread making with that old thing.   Since then I've been upgraded (thanks Mom in law!) to a shiny new cuisinart breadmaker.  It works like a dream and does a million different things.  Of course, a dough setting isn't that exciting, but it's always a plus when you get to throw ingredients into something and have perfect pizza dough pop out an hour and a half later.  I love that I don't have to watch it or transfer anything and there's a lot less to clean up.  Anyways, enough of my bread machine info-mercial.  Here's the recipe for a fantastic pizza.

Pizza Dough

(adapted from cuisinart bread maker recipe book)

1 1/2 cups warm water

1tsp honey

2tsp salt

2tbsp butter

2 1/2 c all purpose flour

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour

1tbsp Italian seasoning

2 1/4 tsp yeast

1.Throw that into a breadmaker on that dough setting. 

2.  At the end of the cycle punch down dough and shape into a flattened ball. 

Let it rest for 10 minutes before shaping into a pizza round. 

3.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.



(If you don't have a breadmaker mix together water, yeast and honey until frothy, then add all the ingredients and knead with a dough hook until smooth.  Place into an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm area until doubled in bulk.  Then follow the rest of the instructions.)

**Oh yes, I forgot to mention.  This recipe makes a super thick crust.  If you don't like thick crust pizza's cut it in half, or just pinch off half and use the rest of the dough to make some foccacia or freeze it for next time!  I pinched off a bit and made a mini foccacia tonight.

Pizza sauce
(from my own wacky experiments)



Yikes, the flash makes it look almost neon.  I promise it's not radioactive!



1 small can of tomato paste

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Mix it all up then spread it all over your pizza dough!

Pizza Toppings!!

• Cheese - we use the Trader Joe's "Quattro formaggio".  It's a blend of Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina and provolone cheese.  I know, it's non-traditional.  No mozzarella!!  Sometimes I go for the fresh mozzarella, that gives it a nice fresh/ more straight from Italy sort of feeling.

• Meat - I usually go with chicken apple sausage, because we usually have that laying around in our freezer.  On the odd occasion I'll cook up some chicken thighs because Jon is weird and likes chicken on his pizza.  More often than not I'll make pizza on Friday and we'll go with veggie pizza.  Oh and if you've never tried smoked oysters on pizza, you haven't lived.  Try to find ones that aren't a product of China.  I always feel safer when canned things don't come from China.
• Veggies! - tonight we had onions, spinach, red pepper, and mushrooms.  If I could only find organic artichokes in water, we'd have that.  Sometimes I'll throw on some organic black olives too.  Yum!

Once your pizza is assembled throw it into the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees until the crust is golden brown and your cheese is melted.  If you don't have a pizza stone and you like your pizza more crunchy on the bottom take the pizza out of the pan and put it directly on the oven rack at around 10-12 minutes.  Enjoy!

Eat your heart out Papa whoever big pizza chain! 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father,

  Thank you for the gift of pizza.  Many youth groups and other Church activities center around this food item.  Please bless all those groups and help them grow fruit for you and our Church.  Bless the youth ministers and all the teenagers who have to swim against the current of our culture to follow you.  Amen.