Chicken Spinach Calzones

Lately, versatile and portable foods have been the key to family nutritious dinners around our home. I can't say that we haven't had the occasional fast food drive-through on our way to soccer, baseball or cheerleading, but, thankfully, it's been minimal thanks to some fantastic recipes that I've found.

These calzones were extremely delicious and wrapped up nicely in foil to travel in the car. As you can tell from my picture, they were gooey with yummy cheese, had nice big chunks of chicken and the added nutrition of fresh spinach. I can't share with you how pleased I felt to quickly prepare a nutritious dinner for my family and send them off to their various activities with a full stomach. :) This was so much healthier than anything the kids would get at a drive-through and much better for our budget too.

From the heart of my kitchen to yours may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!

Chicken Spinach Calzones

3 chicken breasts, chopped
1 (10-ounce) bag fresh spinach
1 (16-ounce) jar prepared Alfredo sauce
1 (8-ounce) package sliced provolone cheese, diced
1 (8-ounce) package fresh basil
About 1 cup cooked mushrooms (I omitted)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 (13.8-ounce) cans refrigerated pizza dough
Prepared marinara sauce and pesto sauce (optional)
Garnish: fresh basil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, spinach, Alfredo sauce, cheese, basil, mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper.

Unfold one can of dough onto prepared baking sheet. gently stretch or roll into an 11-inch square; cut in half diagonally, forming two triangles. Place about 1 1/2 cups chicken mixture in the center of the triangle, leaving a 1-inch border on each side. Fold 1 side of triangle over filling, rolling up edges of dough to seal. Cut a small slit in top of calzone to allow steam to escape. Repeat with remaining dough and chicken mixture. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce and pesto sauce, if desired. (The marinara was fantastic with these!!) Garnish with fresh basil, if desired.

Source: Cooking with Paula Deen-January/February 2009

Tuna-Cheddar Melts

This is one of my favorite "fall-back" recipes. No matter how well I've planned our weekly menu, there are times that the best intentions go flying out the window with wings and I am rushing to put something edible together at the last minute. This recipe is quick, easy and delicious! It's ooey-gooey with cheese and is flavored up with chopped onions and olives and the buns are warm and crispy from baking. Delish!!

Tuna-Cheddar Melts

2 cans (6 ounces each) water-packed tuna, drained and flaked
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I use a little more)
1/2 cup chopped green olives
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Dash of ground black pepper
8 hamburger buns

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine tuna, celery, onion, cheese, olives, mayonnaise and pepper. Divide tuna mixture evenly among buns. Wrap sandwiches loosely in aluminum foil. Place on baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes.

Source: Recipes from the Heart Cookbook

Stromboli

I have to admit, I love pizza!!! The kids and I could eat pizza almost every night of the week, but Marty can barely tolerate it one night a week. I should probably be thankful for that, I can't imagine what all that pizza dough and cheesy toppings would do to my hips!! When I came across this recipe, I wondered if this would satisfy the pizza cravings for the majority of us as well as be different enough that Marty would like it. It came through for both requests and was rated an A++ for us.

This is such a yummy recipe that has a great presentation so it's great to serve as a casual dinner for guests. I typically fix this on Friday nights, and because the recipe makes two large loaves, we eat the leftovers for lunch the remainder of the weekend. It's also a repeated request when we have company for Sunday afternoon Colt's games. GO COLTS!!! I slice these loaves up, place on a platter on the bar downstairs with chips, veggies and dip and hot wings and everyone can snack at their leisure during the game. Fun times!!

Rarely do I prepare this recipe the same way twice. I use whatever lunch meats, pepperoni and sausage that I have on hand and any cheese combination work great too. The sauteed veggies also have numerous variables to experiment with. This is such a fun recipe for versatility according to who your preparing it for and what you have on hand in your fridge.

The bread dough preparation also has a couple of options. You can use your own favorite bread recipe from scratch or you can purchase frozen bread loaves at the store. Depending on the amount of time I have for prep, I have prepared this recipe both ways with extremely satisfactory results. To further reduce my prep time when I've used the frozen dough, I use the quick rise method in the oven. Wonderful!!

Stromboli

1 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings

1 medium green pepper, sliced into rings

1 tablespoon butter

2 loaves (16-ounces each) frozen bread dough, thawed

1/2 pound thinly sliced hard salami

1/2 pound thinly sliced deli ham

1/2 pound sliced mozzarella cheese

1/2 pound sliced mild cheddar cheese

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in butter until crisp-tender; set aside.

On two greased baking sheets, roll each loaf of dough into a 15-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Arrange the salami, ham and cheeses lengthwise over half of each rectangle to within 1/2 in. of edges. Top with onion mixture; sprinkle with Italian seasoning, garlic powder and pepper. Fold dough over filling; pinch edges to seal well.

Brush with the egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool loaves for 5 minutes before slicing.

Yield: 2 loaves (8 servings each)

Source: Taste of Home