Freezer Meal: Calzones

Part of my nesting frenzy this time around seems to be all about freezer meals. Last night I tried calzones and consider it a success. All you need is dough and filling, bake it, then freeze for later use. 

Dough

Use about a pound of dough for four large or eight small calzones. We usually make our own but I went the easy route this time and got four bags (about a pound each) of whole wheat pizza dough from Winco. 

If you want to make your own, try my favorite whole wheat recipe here. Or, this is one of my favorite recipes for half wheat and half white:

For four thin crusts:
1 2/3 cup warm water
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp dry milk powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
4.5 cups bread flour (half white half wheat)
2 tsp yeast

Add in order listed to bread machine and set to dough cycle. cut dough into four portions and form into balls. Let sit 10-20 minutes before rolling/stretching. 


Filling and Sealing

Last night, I made bbq chicken, spinach and sausage, and spinach and chicken calzones. Tonight I’m going to finish up by making beef pizza calzones. See recipes below. 


Once you have your crust rolled, put about a third to a half of a cup of filling on the bottom half of the circle, leaving good space around the edges. 

Take the top half of the dough and fold it over the filling, pressing into the bottom crust to seal. If you have enough dough, pull the bottom crust gently up and over the edge to form a lip and make a more secure seal. Transfer to a greased cookie sheet. 

 

Cut slits in the top for venting and brush each calzone with melted butter and garlic if desired. Bake at 400 for about 18-25 minutes, until light golden brown. 

Freezing

Gently lift each calzone with a spatula to make sure they aren’t sticking to the pan. Let cool until slightly warm and then put the pan in the freezer for about an hour or more. Wrap each calzone in plastic wrap and then nest in a large freezer bag for storage. 


Recipes

My hubby and I determined we like our calzones with tomato sauce, but the ones without are still very good. 🙂 

BBQ Chicken Calzones (4 large calzones)

6 pieces cooked and crumbled bacon
1/2 cup diced onions
2 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken
1/3 to 1/2 cup bbq sauce
shredded cheese

Cook bacon in a skillet and set aside to cool. When cooled, crumble the bacon. Add the onion and garlic to the skillet and sauté. Combine bacon, onion mix, chicken, and bbq sauce in a medium bowl. Place on calzones to fill and then top with shredded cheese.

I made this without the bacon. They were very good but there was still a noticeable lack of… bacon. Bacon is what makes a bbq chicken pizza, right? So next time I’ll run to the store to get a small package. 

Spinach and Sausage Calzones (4 large calzones)

1/2 cup diced onions
2 cups chopped spinach
2 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups cooked crumbled sausage
ricotta cheese
spaghetti sauce
shredded cheese

Cook onion and garlic in skillet until onions translucent. Add spinach and sauté until wilted. Layer ingredients on calzone in following order: 3 tbsp ricotta cheese, 3 tbsp spaghetti sauce, spinach mix, sausage. 

Spinach and Chicken Calzones (4 large calzones)

1/2 cup diced onions
2 cups chopped spinach
2 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked diced or shredded cooked chicken
15 oz ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded cheese

Cook onion and garlic in skillet until onions translucent. Add spinach and sauté until wilted. Combine spinach mix with remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Fill calzones with about 1/2 cup of the mixture. 

Beef Pizza Calzones (4 large calzones)

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup diced onions
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups spaghetti sauce
2 cups shredded cheese

Cook onions and garlic in skillet until onions translucent. Add ground beef and brown. Combine with remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Fill calzones with about 1/2 cup of the mixture. 

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I’m very happy with this experiment! I’ll probably try it again later with just pepperoni for a pizza pocket kind of thing. I ended up with several meals worth of calzones that were fairly easy to do!

 

 

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