Mmm, calzones

I spent the afternoon peeling and slicing apples for canning spiced apples. After that I wanted something good for dinner. I12 suggested calzones, or pizza sandwiches as he called them, since he couldn't remember the name. What a great idea. So I mixed up some dough, divided it into balls and let each child go to work. Here's the general recipe:

Pizza (or calzone) dough

Mix together in measuring cup 1 1/3 cup warm water and 1 1/2 tsp yeast. Let sit until it starts to get frothy. (I usually feed mine with a tsp of sugar)

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine:

3 cups unbleached flour (or regular)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 to 1 tsp Italian seasoning ( to taste- I use about 3/4 tsp)

When the yeast is frothy, add it to the dry ingredients with 2 T olive oil. Stir to combine then knead. Let rise for 20-30 minutes, depending on how warm your kitchen is at the moment.

This dough will make 2 pizzas, one pizza + breadsticks, or 5-6 calzones.

For the calzones, divide the dough into balls, roll each ball into a round (about 1/4 inch thick), lay on a lightly greased baking sheet. Top half of each round with pizza sauce, cheese and your choice of fillings- leave 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the edge naked. Then fold over, pressing the edges together to seal. Poke a few holes in the top to allow steam to escape (if these are made by individuals, mark each top with identifying marks!). Bake in a 375 oven until the dough starts to brown or the cheese on top (if any) is melty and lightly browned. Let sit on the pan for a few minutes to cool, then serve and enjoy.

My children love building their own calzones, filling the middle with whatever sounds good. Tonight the filling options, besides cheese, were pepperoni, Italian sausage, black olives, red bell pepper and onion. With kids, just make sure they don't overfill, then it gets difficult to seal the edges.

Sorry, no pictures tonight- they were all devoured quickly.