Pepper Popper Chicken Calzones Recipe

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Day 19.

I love pizza and calzones. So does our toddler. In fact, she loves them so much she ate several tablespoons of the dough while she was “helping” me stir the crust dough.

Pepper Popper Chicken Calzone
1 pizza dough (I use the Betty Crocker cookbook version, which follows)
1 C shredded cooked “chicken”
1 C shredded cheese

1/4 C frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1/2 C “Bacon” substitute, cooked & chopped (I used 1 4 oz. can mushrooms, sauteed with bacon salt, olive oil and pepper)

Pepper Popper spread (mix the following ingredients)
–1/4 C cream cheese, room temperature
–1/4 C sour cream
–1/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese

–1 4 oz. can diced (non-pickled) jalapenos

–About 6 pepperoncini peppers, diced
–salt and pepper to taste

Flour your surface and divide dough into six portions. Roll out the pizza dough balls. Flour the dough top and your rolling pin and roll just a couple times to stretch the dough slightly.

Spread the Pepper Popper topping over the dough. All remaining fillers: keep towards the middle. Sprinkle on the cheese last. Fold the calzone dough over and crimp the edges with a fork.

Place calzone on a lightly greased baking pan, sprinkled with corn meal.

Bake at 375 degree for 25 minutes, or until bread is golden brown on all sides.

Adapted from original recipe found here from Kristen at From My Tiny Kitchen.

Pizza Dough

2 1/2 C Flour
1 packet instant yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 C water
3 Tbsp. oil

Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients. Need dough for 5-8 minutes. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

The Results

I forgot the “bacon” until I was about half-way through crimping the calzones shut. So we had half with and half without bacon. Both were good. Though I highly recommend serving with marinara sauce. This may just be me, but calzones and pizza just don’t seem to taste right with no tomato sauce. Without it, all I could really taste were the peppers. I think, if I were to make them again, I’d think about putting diced tomatoes inside and increasing the cheese.

This post is linked at No Whine Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday and Recipes I can’t Wait to Try.

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