Tuesday, February 23, 2010

New Ideas for leftovers!


So, back from Valentine's Day madness. I made Menu 2 and it was delicious. Also, I could not resist and had to also make the baked bananas from menu 1 - they were a revelation, especially hot out of the oven with the cold icecream. Divine!
I know, again with the leftovers - but it really is a money saver if you learn what to do with them.
Think of your leftovers this way: they are take-out without the out. They are already in you fridge.
So, what new ideas do I have.
Well, how about calzone?

I am sure you have come across ready made pizza dough in the prepared foods section of your supermarket - it maybe in the freezer section, but then the recipe will not be instant - you have to give the dough a chance to de-freeze - usually a day in the fridge will do that.
In a good supermarket you will find whole wheat pizza dough - and I think that is worth the money.
You could make your own dough - but it makes the recipe a little more complex, not much more, but enough to disqualify it for a quick weekday dinner.
So what can we put into our calzone - well what can’t we? Since calzone is just a pizza folded over anything that could go on a pizza can go in a calzone - I personally think you can even be braver with the calzone.

For one pound of whole wheat dough I pay $1.99 - not cheap but okay! I get 6 mini calzones out of one pound dough. They are only mini in relation to the size you get served at Italian restaurants - where they would make probably no more that two calzones out of one pound of dough. I find that size to be very heavy and I’d rather serve my mini calzone with a nice big side salad.

What you will need:

1 pound pizza dough
1 egg (optional - to brush the dough to give it color)
1 ½ cups leftover - chinese, stir-fry, or any other chopped and prepared vegetables
1 cup cheese - optional
dipping sauce - marinara or other
side salad

1. Preheat oven to 420ยบ.
With scissors cut off about golfball sized amount of dough. Roll it into a flat round - put about three tablespoons of filling on one side of the circle and top with cheese. Then fold over and cramp closed with a fork or by hand.

2. Repeat until you have no dough left and transfer calzone’s to an oiled cookie sheet.

3. Beat one egg and brush outside of calzones lightly for color.

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve immediately with a side dipping sauce - such as marinara and a side salad.

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