Spicy Sausage Calzones Recipes

SAUSAGE & SPINACH CALZONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large skillet, cook and crumble sausage over medium heat until no longer pink, 4-6 minutes; drain. Add spinach; cook and stir until wilted. Remove from heat., On a lightly floured surface, unroll and pat dough into a 15x11-in. rectangle. Cut into 4 rectangles. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on half of each rectangle to within 1 in. of edges., Stir ricotta cheese and pepper into sausage mixture; spoon over mozzarella cheese. Fold dough over filling; press edges with a fork to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet., Bake until light golden brown, 10-15 minutes. If desired, serve with pizza sauce.Freeze option: Freeze cooled calzones in an airtight freezer container. To use, microwave calzone on high until heated through.

QUICK SAUSAGE AND BELL PEPPER CALZONES

Steps:

• Separate rolls onto a cornmeal-sprinkled work surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest while preparing filling.
• Fry sausage in a 12-inch skillet, breaking it up into small bits with a spoon, until it loses its raw color, about 5 minutes. Depending on the amount of fat in the pan, drain or add oil to equal about 2 Tbs. Add onion and peppers; saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic. Transfer to a bowl. Cool to room temperature; stir in cheeses and optional parsley.
• Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Sprinkling with cornmeal as necessary, roll out each roll into a 7-inch circle. Spoon a scant 1/2 cup of filling just below the center line, leaving a 1-inch border along the bottom half of the dough circle. Spoon filling just below the center line of the circle of dough, leaving a border along the bottom half of the circle. With wet fingertips, moisten the bottom border. Fold dough over filling and press edges together. Thoroughly seal by using fingertips to crimp and flute the edges or by pressing with the tines of a fork. Place on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (At this point, can be frozen up to 2 weeks.)
• Brush tops with oil. Bake until golden brown, about 16 minutes (longer if frozen). Let cool slightly and serve with warm marinara sauce.

SPICY SAUSAGE CALZONES

Steps:

• 1. Begin by sauteing your onions in skillet. Add 1 lb. of ground pork sausage to skillet and cook until done.
• 2. Pour a jar of Ragu pizza sauce & a 4.5 oz. jar of sliced, drained mushrooms to a bowl.
• 3. Add meat and onion mixture to the sauce mixture. Stir thoroughly.
• 4. Divide large pizza dough (store bought or homemade) into six balls. On floured countertop or board roll out one ball at a time to an 8 or 9 inch circle.
• 5. Fill 1/2 of circle with meat/sauce mixture and top with mozzerella cheese.
• 6. Moisten edge of pizza dough circle and fold over in half and crimp.
• 7. Spray a large cookie sheet with non-stick spray and place first completed calzone on sheet. Repeat steps 4-6 with remaining dough balls.
• 8. Once all 6 lge. calzones on complete, whisk 2 eggs whites in a bowl. Using a pastry brush, "paint" your calzones with egg white and bake in an oven at 350 degrees for appox. 30 minutes. (Egg white will help them to brown).

SPICY CALZONE

Steps:

• 1. Brown ground beef or sausage with onion and bell pepper. Stir in sliced Connecuh sausage. (Feel free to add any meat you like, Italian sausage is awesome). Drain meat.
• 2. Pour in 3/4 jar of Paul Newman's Garlic & Herb spaghetti sauce (or your choice I use PN's for ease and it has a lot of flavor).
• 3. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and Italian seasoning.
• 4. Spray your long jelly roll pan with Pam. Roll out the pizza dough in a square or round shape, your choice.
• 5. Line the dough with slices of mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices.
• 6. In the center spoon the meat sauce.
• 7. For the square shaped: Fold over one end and then fold the other end to overlap. Fold the end pieces up to seal the calzone. Fold over so the seam is on the bottom. For the Round dough: Fold over like a crescent moon and pinch the ends to close the calzone.
• 8. I brush my calzone with melted butter and sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese.
• 9. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
• 10. While this is baking I heat the remaining sauce in a saucepan on medium/low for dipping or drizzling over the calzone.

SAUSAGE CALZONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 F.
• Brown sausage in a small skillet in a drizzle of olive oil. Transfer the cooked crumbled sausage to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
• Combine sausage with ricotta, parsley, garlic, Parmigiano, nutmeg, pepper, and pimento. Roll out doughs and halve cross-wise. Place a dough rectangle on a nonstick cookie sheet. Use 1/2 cup mozzarella on half of each dough rectangle and pile a mound of filling on half of the total area. Fold dough over and pinch edges to seal. The result is a rectangular turnover.
• For half-moon shaped calzones, trim excess dough. Roll dough bits into strips, tie in knots and brush with garlic oil and cheese. Garlic knots are fun to dip at the table.
• Bake calzones 15 minutes or until golden all over. Serve calzones with warm tomato, marinara, or pizza sauce for dipping.
• Cook's Note: For an additional time saver, 2 packages precooked sausage crumbles, 8 ounces each, may be substituted for raw Italian sausage used in the above recipe.
• Add olive oil to medium saucepan over moderate heat. Add garlic and crushed pepper to the heated olive oil; when pepper snaps and garlic sizzles, stir in crushed tomatoes. Season sauce with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cook for five minutes and stir in parsley. Serve.
• Yield: 4 servings