Cheap and Easy Calzone

We love to kick back on the sofa on Friday nights, paper plates of pizza on our laps, feet up on the edge of the coffee table to watch some TV and relax—enjoying one another’s company and feasting on some tasty pizza piled with meat, vegetables and cheese.  No matter what other kind of food a person likes, pretty much everybody likes pizza.

I’ve been putting off making calzones because we enjoy our homemade pizza so much, but quite frankly doing the crust on a calzone is actually easier than working the crust on a pizza into the right shape and size.  I really envy those guys at the pizza joints who can fling the dough around, spinning it in the air and have it come out smooth, shaped right and without any holes.

But I can roll out the crust on a calzone and get really good results shaping the disc into the right size to create the filling stuffed turn-over.

Cheap and Easy Calzone

Some people like to buy pizza dough from a pizza restaurant or like to use ready-made frozen dough or even frozen bread dough.  If that’s what you want to do, be my guest.  I’ve gotten so that I like to make my own dough and it only takes a few minutes to mix everything and knead it.  Here’s my recipe for pizza dough:  http://www.cheap-bastid-cooks.com/homemade-pizza/

So let’s roll up our sleeves and make homemade cheap and easy calzones.  I did these with Italian sausage but use whatever you want—pepperoni, ground beef, shredded chicken or all vegetables.  Get creative.  I’m dreaming of making Phillie cheesesteak calzones, meatball calzones and even macaroni and cheese calzones.

Recipe: Cheap and Easy Calzone

Summary: Try Calzones for a different twist on pizza–they’re easy, inexpensive and really tasty!

Ingredients

  • 3 Italian sausages
  • ¾ cup chopped bell pepper (red or orange)
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 recipe homemade pizza dough (http://www.cheap-bastid-cooks.com/homemade-pizza/)
  • Saltroll out the dough
  • Garlic powder
  • Italian seasoning or dried oregano and dried basil
  • 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella or other cheese
  • 1-2 tbsp Corn meal
  • Flour for dusting
  • 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

Instructions

  • Get out a baking sheet, your dough board and rolling pin along with your cutting board and chef’s knife and a sauté pan, wooden spatula and thin bladed spatula.
  • Cut the sausages lengthwise and then slice the sausage into about 1/8” thick pieces.
  • Chop the bell pepper and onion
  • Turn stove on to medium high. When heated, add the sausage and stir with a wooden spatula to separate the pieces.calzone filling
  • After 3-4 minutes add the pepper and onions. Add salt, garlic powder and Italian seasoning to taste. Cook with the vegetables for another 3-4 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and put into a bowl lined with a paper towel to drain.
  • Make sure that the pizza dough has gone through its rising and is ready to be “worked”
  • Sprinkle the cornmeal onto the baking sheet. Turn oven to pre-heat at 400.
  • Cut the dough into 3-4 equal size hunks. Lightly dust your work surface and hands.
  • Roll the dough in your hands and the start to press it into a “disc” or “patty”.
  • Put it down on the dusted board. Lightly rub the rolling pin with flour and roll the chunk of dough into a rough shaped circle that’s the size of a dinner plate or a bit bigger if you’re only making 3 calzones.calzone add cheese
  • When done, cover ½ of the calzone from middle to within about ½ inch of the outer edge with 1/3 or ¼ of the filling (depending on how many calzones you’re making).
  • Generously cover the filling with shredded cheese—about 1/3 cup.
  • Pull the unfilled half of the dough over the filling and gently pat down. Roll and crimp the ½ “border” so that it’s tight. Crimp with your finger tips or with the tines of a fork.
  • Gently lift the filled calzone with the spatula and put onto the baking sheet.
  • Now do the same thing with the rest of the dough putting each finished calzone on the baking sheet about ½ inch from its neighbor.calzone fold over and crimp
  • Either pierce each calzone 4-5 times with a fork or cut 3-4 short slices in the top of the calzone so steam can escape.
  • Pop into the pre-heated oven (400 degrees) for 12-15 minutes or until the top is golden brown. (You can paint a “wash” on the crust before putting it into the oven—use either a light skim of milk or an egg-wash).
  • Open the can of tomato sauce, put it into a couple of little bowls and use it for dipping the calzone as you eat.
  • When done, remove from oven, let cool and enjoy.

Preparation time: 20 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

Even though there are a whole bunch of directions here, you can see that it’s pretty simple and straight forward to make these.  And they’re good!  The dipping sauce makes them more “pizza-ie” and you can season the uncooked calzone with salt, garlic and even crushed red-pepper to taste.

calzone ready to eat

Get creative and have fun.  This can be a whole family pitch in and make it type of dinner with each person making their own calzone.  (Make sure it’s pitch in and help with the clean-up too!)

The Cheap Bastid Test:  The dough costs about $.50 and 3 Italian sausages cost about $2.  The tomato sauce is $.33 (3 for $1!), the vegetables cost about $.35 and you’ll use about $1.50 worth of cheese.  The total comes to $4.68.  If you make 4 that means you’ll spend $1.17 per person!  That’s a bargain, especially when a calzone like this costs about $8 each at a pizzeria!

That’s the Cheap Bastid Way:  Eat Good. Eat Cheap. Be Grateful!

About Walter Blevins

My wife started to call me Cheap Bastid a while back because I enjoyed coming up with dinners that cost next to nothing--and making them taste good. Yeah, I love to cook. And I love to cook good food cheap. I'm not a chef and I'm definitely not anything close to a gourmet. I'm just a home cook who grew up in a home where cooking was from scratch and was a little bit Midwest and a little bit country. That's because my Mom was from Michigan and my Dad was from Kentucky. I started sharing recipes when my daughter called me in 2006 and asked for my recipe for Swiss Steak. That year for Christmas I put together a cookbook for my 2 kids called "Dad's Everyday Cookbook and Kitchen Survival Guide". And I heard back that they both use it regularly. It was full of basic recipes that I had cooked for them when they were growing up. I work hard at creating recipes that are original and creative and inexpensive. You won't find a foo-foo foodie approach to my recipes and style. I believe that it's OK for food to go up the side of a plate. Food is for eating--it doesn't have to be pretty. And I write about my cooking and my recipes so that I can share them. I hope you enjoy these posts. Leave me a comment--that you liked something or that you didn't, it doesn't matter. I'd love to hear from you.
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One Response to Cheap and Easy Calzone

  1. Carolyn Lee says:

    I cannot wait to try this the next time my hubby wants to call out for pizza!
    Thanks for your delicious recipes!!
    ~Carolyn

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