Homemade Calzones & Carrot Ribbon Salad ($10 or Less Meal)

One of our most popular recipes has been our homemade pizza and sauce so I thought, why not use the dough and sauce and come up with something just as tasty (and cheap) but different. So today’s recipe is homemade calzones, which I stuffed with hamburger, peppers, onion, mushroom and olives but of course, just as with the pizza, you can add any fillers your family likes or whatever leftovers you have in the fridge. And because this is a kid-friendly, but good enough for adults dish, I paired it with a carrot ribbon salad I just saw in one of my favorite magazines, “Better Homes and Gardens”.

This recipe will make 4-6 large calzones or lots of small ones…you want to make sure though that you don’t stuff them too full, so if you want lots of fillers, make the bigger ones. When we made out cooking video, I actually had tons of ingredients left over so my written recipe will be more accurate and you might notice that the amount of ingredients are less. I’m keeping the original pricing, so even if you don’t find most of the ingredients on sale, the end dollar amount will be about the same. This is a great recipe to get the kids involved in, letting them choose their toppings if you want, or even to serve for a buffet. And again, an easy way to use up any leftovers. The calzones and salad, for a family of 4 came in at a grand total of about $5.00!

HOMEMADE CALZONES-

Prep Time: About 1 hour* (includes rise time)

Cook Time: 10-15 minutes (depending on size)

Serves: 4 for appox$5.00

*While you’re waiting for the dough to rise, you can easily make your sauce, cook your hamburger and chop your veggies. Plus you’ll have enough time to make your carrot ribbon salad so that when the dough is ready, you’ll be totally ready to make your calzones.

Ingredients:

• Pizza Dough-recipe to follow
• Pizza Sauce-recipe to follow
• 1/2 to 3/4 lb hamburger meat, cooked and drained
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 chopped onion (your choice of color)
• 5 mushrooms, chopped
• 5 black olives, chopped

Homemade Pizza/Calzone Dough Recipe-

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
•  1 tbsp yeast
• 1 cup warm water

Directions:

Mix all of the dry ingredients together and then add warm water. Mix and then knead for about 2 minutes. Cover and let dough rise until double, about an hour.

Tomato Sauce-

This recipe makes enough sauce for two pizzas or 8-10 large calzones. I made the sauce and then froze half for a future pizza!

Ingredients:

• 1 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp dry oregano
• 1 tsp dry basil
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together! Pretty easy.

To make the calzones:

Once your dough has risen, preheat oven to 500 degrees. Using a sharp knife, divide the dough into 4 to 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then using a rolling-pin, roll each piece out on a cutting board into a 9-inch circle. Sprinkle a little flour on the dough if  it sticks to the pin or board.

Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with cooking spray. Transfer the pizza dough circle to the sheet. Spread sauce on one half of the circle but leave a 1-inch margin without sauce around the edge. Pile cheese and other fillings on top of the sauce and top with more sauce. MAKE SURE you don’t overfill them and that you keep a 1-inch margin around the edge!

Carefully fold the empty half of the circle over the fillings. Pinch the edges together. There should not be any sauce or filling leaking out of them.

Bake the calzones for 10-15 minutes, or until they are slightly brown. Let them cool for 15 minutes. The filling will be extremely hot so make sure you let them cool down the full time!

**I froze some of mine and they were easy to reheat. I defrosted mine in the microwave for about 1 minute and then cooked on high for 90 seconds. Makes a great, quick lunch or after-school treat too!

CARROT RIBBON SALAD-

Again, I got this recipe from Better Homes and Garden magazine and just changed up the amounts of ingredients to fit a family of 4 and to get it in my price range. It’s not only delicious and fresh tasting, it’s pretty too!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp mayo
• 3/4 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 tbsp. sugar
• 1/3 tsp sea salt (or kosher)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 lb carrots
• 1/8 cup raisins
• 1/3 of a bunch of green onions, chopped (or about 3-4)

Directions:

For dressing, in a large bowl, whisk together the mayo, lemon peel, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Using a vegetable peeler, shave carrots into ribbons. Toss the carrots with dressing, raisins and green onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let salad stand 10 minutes or until carrots slightly wilt before serving. Toss frequently when serving to distribute dressing. Salad can be covered and chilled up to 4 hours before serving, just make sure to toss well before serving.