Loaded Calzones

You all know how much I love recreating from my leftovers. I had yet another opportunity to do just that once again. This one was a simple, obvious recreation, but it was still very tasty all the same. I took my leftover spaghetti sauce and turned it into calzones.

We like a very rich and meaty spaghetti sauce. It’s always loaded with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, ground beef sausage, and herbs, as well as marinara sauce. You know, just how a Sicilian nona would make it. 🙂 I love spaghetti and pasta, but as you know, I also love to change things around too, and I do that quite frequently. This time, I turned it into calzones. I served a quick little Mediterranean salad on the side, along with some rich velvety red wine, and voila! Dinner was done; Italian style.

When it comes to making pizza doughs and calzones, it is always a personal choice. There are so many different options available and so many of them are very good. You just have to choose the one(s) you like best. I have one recipe for both that I like to use a lot, and this is the recipe I chose for these calzones too. Pizza with Pesto, Sausages and Vegetables It is the same recipe for both. After all, a calzone is really just a stuffed pizza sandwich. 🙂

I love calzones, but I very rarely order them at a restaurant. I love my calzones stuffed, and so often at restaurants, you just get mostly bread and not a lot of stuff inside. So when I make them, I really load them up.

Once I made my dough and let it rest, it was time to fill it up. My filling was already made. It was just a mater of loading it all up and making it pretty.

I rolled out the dough to a circle (of sorts) on a lightly floured surface, then added a layer of mozzarella cheese, a generous portion of my sausage and beef sauce, with another layer of mozzarella cheese on top. Then I folded it over and shape it into a calzone.

Once the calzones were made, I coated them with an egg wash before putting them in the oven.

They were baked at 350* F or 190*C for about 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown.

After removing them from the oven, I let them cool for a few minutes before cutting them. These turned out to be HUGE so 1/2 a calzone each plus a salad was more than enough.

They were light and crispy on the outside and filled with warm, comforting goodness on the inside. !Deliziosa!

Have a great day Everyone. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.