Calzone a la Leftovers, courtesy of C!
If you are still trying to dig your way out from under all of last week’s leftover food, put down the shovel (and step away from the microwave) and pick up this recipe pronto!
The inside of the calzone pre-cooking. Note the carefully layered (piled) ingredients versus a mixing together of everything.
C got the inspiration for today’s savory treat from something he makes called a Weekend Guy Sandwich (from the Weekend Guy, a show that ran on one of our obscure cable stations a few years ago). The difference between the Weekend Guy Sandwich and C’s creation however is the thoughtful layering of ingredients, whereas the Weekend Guy uses more of a casserole-style with the ingredients in his recipe, and he usually uses whatever is on hand even if the foods wouldn’t normally be served together (Chinese stir-fry and leftover enchiladas, together at last!).
So Friday night the following was our leftover Thanksgiving dinner, and it was delicioso! I love that this presented leftovers in a way that didn’t just mimic a plate of leftover food (because, well, that’s just boring). That and wrapping the meal INSIDE of the dinner roll? Genius!
My first two slices of the calzone. Notice the doughy corner piece, which is the one that tastes better with butter.
Tip: For the end pieces of the calzone, make sure you have some butter on hand. Think unbelievably fresh and flavorful dinner rolls… mmmm.
Calzone a la Leftovers, C's first two slices.
Calzone a la Leftovers
Ingredients:
One Fresh and Easy Plain Pizza Dough (or your preferred brand or hand-made)
Leftover Mashed Potatoes
Leftover Green Beans (any other leftover veggie can work here as well)
Leftover Gravy
Leftover Turkey (white and/or dark meat), sliced or shredded
Leftover Cranberry Sauce
Leftover Stuffing
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (enough to cover half of a 12-14 inch pizza)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Stretch out pizza dough as if you were making a hand-tossed pizza, only flouring the outer portion of the dough so it doesn’t stick to your surface. Move dough to a lipped cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.
3. In layers, spread enough of the above ingredients over half of the dough, layering ingredients in the order as listed above through “stuffing.” Make sure to leave 1 inch of building perimeter clear of ingredients so you can seal up the calzone later (see above pre-cooked photo).
4. Pour another layer of gravy over top of stuffing layer; top with shredded mozzarella until covered.
5. Carefully fold empty half of dough over other half to create calzone; seal by pinching together at edges.
The calzone once it came out of the oven.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until top of crust and edges are golden brown; remove from oven, slice into pieces, and serve.
Real Mom Time (RMT) 