Killer Calzones (Bacon, Sausage and Four Cheeses)

Bacon, sausage and four (count ‘em 4!) ooey, gooey CHEESES! These beauties may spoil you for delivered pizza. If you have any leftover, wrap tightly in foil and then store in a zip top bag in your freezer. The perfect antidote to “I’ve had a really long day and I’m not cooking!”

Ingredients (serves 8):

6 strips of bacon

1 pound sweet Italian sausage

¾ cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

1 cup chopped mushrooms

5 cups chopped fresh spinach, kale or Swiss chard

1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

½ cup fresh mozzarella, diced

½ cup provel cheese, diced (if you don’t have it, just use more mozzarella)

2 teaspoons garlic salt

Extra salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

3 small balls of prepared pizza dough (sorry, the package doesn’t say how much they weigh; I’d guess about 6 ounces each)

A few Tablespoons milk for brushing the tops of the calzones

Extra grated parmesan for sprinkling over the tops of the calzones

Prepared pizza sauce for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Set aside. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook until brown. Drain off any excess fat.

Toss the onions, garlic, mushrooms and leafy greens into the pan. Cook until the veggies are soft and fragrant, but not brown (about 5 minutes). Remove the skillet from the heat and let cool for 15 minutes.

Add the ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, provel and garlic salt to the pan and mix thoroughly. Crumble the bacon and add it to the mixture. Taste the filling (my favorite part) and add salt and pepper to your liking.

Knead the three pizza dough balls together slightly and then divide it into 8 portions and roll each out into a circle (however thick or thin you want) on a floured surface. Don’t stress about the shape or if they are all the same size. This is home cooking. Divide the sausage mixture between the dough circles putting it on one side only, leaving about a 1 inch border around the edge. Fold the dough over and fold up the edges of the half circles to completely seal the filling in the dough. Place on 2 parchment lined baking sheets and brush the tops with milk. Sprinkle on a little grated parmesan. Cut a few vent holes in the tops of the calzones and bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and serve with pizza sauce.