Sometimes I have thought about what to open that night before 8am...

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Cooking with Kids- Calzones

Last Thursday Tim taught a cooking class at our local library. 40 kids, 2 kinds of calzones, an apple-blueberry crumble, and a good time was had by all!

The highlight for me was all of the moms coming up at the end asking for the recipes... because their "kids actually ate them!" We of course had the recipes for all of the children to take home.

Cooking with your kids is so incredibly fun, and often, if they have a hand in making it, they are more apt to eat it! Here are a few pictures of the action. The recipes are at the bottom.
 Learning to work the dough.

 Everyone had a turn.
 A better shot of the mayhem. Trust me, if Tim could teach 40 five-nine year olds how to make calzones... you can definitely do it with your kids in your kitchen!
 We had some great teen volunteers too!

 And look at how beautiful they turned out!

Chicken, Black Bean and Corn Calzone with Salsa Sour Cream
Ingredients:
1 store bought pizza dough
1 pound chicken breast, roasted
1 can of corn, drained and rinsed
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2-2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4  tsp black pepper
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam.

Allow dough to come to room temperature, and then roll or stretch dough into a large oval or rectangle. Make sure your dough is not bigger than the pan you will use to bake the calzone.
                                           
Chop the roasted chicken into bite size pieces.  Heat a large pan over medium heat. Spray with Pam. Add chicken, black beans, corn, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper and stir until combined and heated through. 

Remove from heat and stir in half of the cheese. Spoon the mixture onto one side of the dough you rolled out. Top with remaining cheese. Pull the other half of the dough over the top and pinch the edges to seal it shut.

In a small bowl whisk the egg. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg over the top of your calzone. Poke a few holes in the top of the calzone so that it won't fill with air while you are cooking it.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Cut into pieces and serve with salsa sour cream.

Salsa Sour Cream
1cup sour cream
1/3 cup mild salsa (like pace)
In a bowl mix together sour cream and salsa.

Chicken and Broccoli Calzone
1 large pizza dough ball
1 lb of chicken breast, roasted
1 1/2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 onion chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 cups mozzarella, shredded
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam.

Allow dough to come to room temperature, and then roll or stretch dough into a large oval or rectangle. Make sure your dough is not bigger than the pan you will bake it on.
                                           
Chop the roasted chicken into bite size pieces.  Steam the broccoli until crisp tender. In a large pan melt 2 tbsp of butter. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 2 or 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the chicken and broccoli and half of the cheese stir until combined.

Spoon the mixture onto one side of the dough you rolled out.  Sprinkle with the 2 cups of cheese. Pull the opposite side of the dough over the top and pinch the edges together.

In a small bowl whisk the egg. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg over the top of your calzone. Poke a few holes in the top of the calzone to keep it from filling with air while cooking.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Cut into pieces and serve with your favorite marinara sauce.

 Have fun and enjoy!

3 comments:

  1. Both calzones look awesome -- how would you vegetarian-ize one? Have you made them without the chicken and with other ingredients?

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  2. We make a lot of calzones, and many of them are vegetarian! If you wanted to do the Southwestern style calzone (my favorite) I would add an onion diced and sauteed, a bell pepper diced, and perhaps bump up the quantity of beans to two cans. Completely filling and delicious!

    If you opt for the Chicken and broccoli, I would go with a spring vegetable medley and add a summer squash (halved and cut into slices) a zucchini (halved and cut into slices) and half of a red or orange pepper (diced) to add some color!

    Let me know if you try any of them and how you like them.

    This wont be the last time you see a calzone here. In fact, I'll make sure that the next one is vegetarian!

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  3. I think even Lovely Daughter, who is 21, would love making these! (She probably would have loved the class too!) I love veggie pizzas and a veggie option sounds great this time of year!

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