It’s as if we have two new people living with us… the baby and Trader Joe!  Trader Joe’s made this calzone recipe super easy to make and it made my big kid super happy. He loved playing with the dough, folding it into moon shapes and watching it puff up in the oven. Luckily, he was also wild about the taste. He asked for seconds and then thirds. We’re excited to try other kinds of calzone stuffing in the coming weeks.

[recipe]Easy Calzone Recipe

Prep Time: 20 mins  Cooking Time: 25 to 25 mins

Ingredients:
1/2 pound grass fed ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 tablespoon oregano
10 oz package chopped spinach
2 to 3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 package pre-made pizza dough (we used Trader Joe’s whole wheat)
flour for rolling out dough
marinara sauce (for serving)

Remove spinach from package and let thaw completely. Squeeze several times until well drained. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet, saute onions in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until translucent. Add ground beef and cook over medium heat until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Do not over cook! Drain well and combine with cheeses, oregano and spinach. Add tomato paste and mix well. Cut pizza dough into 6 pieces and make each piece into a ball. On a floured surface, roll out each ball into a circle. Circle should be nice and thin but not too thin to rip. Divide mixture evenly among each circle. Fold over to form a moon shape and wet edges with water. Crimp with a fork to seal. Brush each moon shape with olive oil and prick each gently with a sharp knife.  Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve hot with marinara for dipping. Makes 6 calzones.[/recipe]