Dinner Made Fun

Sometimes, you just have to change things up a bit. Tonight, I decided to have fun with dinner. I had to come up with something that would be fun and easy for everyone. I decided on calzones. Calzones are a family favorite and a great way for everyone to make their own special meal and it be fun.

Two hours before time to start putting the calzones together, I made the dough. You can use store bought pizza crust, but we prefer homemade. For the Crust:

Ingredients: (makes 7 calzones)

4 cups flour

2 packets of active dry yeast

1 tsp of salt

1 tbls garlic powder

1 tbls sugar

2 tbls Olive Oil

Approximately a cup and a half of water

Put all the ingredients in a stand mixer slowly adding the water until it no longer sticks to the side and has smooth texture. Let the stand mixer knead the dough for 45 minutes. Take the dough and split it up into 7 balls, place onto a cookie sheet and cover with a clean towel. Let the dough rise for 45 minutes.

When the dough has doubled in size it is now time to put together the calzones. We just use our hands to spread out the dough into a flat circular shape. You can fill your calzones with whatever pizza fillings you like. I filled mine with chopped bell pepper, chopped red onion, slice tomato, mozzarella cheese, jalapeños and pepperonis. For best results bake your calzones in a 500-degree oven on top of a pizza stone. I prefer Pampered Chefs. Here is a link if you are interested: https://www.pamperedchef.com/pws/npurvis/shop/100252?sharedByConsultant=955169

This makes for a fun and delicious meal. My kids absolutely love being able to make the meal the way they want it. In fact, my son today surprised me with what he put on his. He put bell peppers and tomatoes on his and that is something he would normally, not do. Have fun and get creative as a family. The kitchen is a great place to do just that.