Calzone for One

Hey readers! How's everything going? I am glad we are halfway to the weekend- I'm sure I'm not the only one! You may or may not have noticed my new look around here, but I couldn't be more excited about it! Please take a look around the new navigation and let me know what you think. I'm always open to constructive criticism, and want my site to be user-friendly, so don't be shy.

Today I wanted to share another quick recipe that is a staple at my apartment: easy peasy calzones. Best of all, this is adjusted to be a recipe for a calzone for one! I started making these in college and love how versatile they are! You just need refrigerated pizza dough, cheese, and your desired fillings to make them. I've done a simple version- just cheese and pepperoni- thanks to what I had in my refrigerator, but you can get really creative here. I've done ham, banana peppers, olives, roasted garlic, mushrooms, and more before! Basically, everything but the kitchen sink can go inside.

The great thing about this dinner, is that you can make 2 huge calzones from one can of dough! In college, that meant it was a perfect roomie-bonding activity to cook together. Nowadays, it means one to go in the refrigerator to eat later in the week. I love having easy and delicious meals ready to go in the fridge. Anybody with me?? I simply reheat the second calzone in the oven at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes or until heated through. I serve the calzone with warm pizza sauce for dipping, and a salad to pretend I'm being healthy! To be honest, that's a ton of food but since this calzone reheats so well, I don't mind having some left over. Bon appetit!

 

Calzone For One

1 canned pizza crust, cold
1/3 cup cheese (more or less for your tastes!)
pepperonis (or desired toppings; drained of juices)
1 tbsp olive oil
pizza sauce for dipping

1. Preheat oven according to crust packaging and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut pizza dough in half. The dough becomes less manageable as it warms up, so if you need to prep your ingredients, do so before taking dough out!
3. Fill calzone square with toppings, leaving about an inch of exposed dough to seal edges. Fold dough over to create a triangle calzone and pinch edges to prevent the toppings from oozing out while baking.
4. Brush olive oil lightly on the dough and cut 2-4 small slits in the top layer of the dough to vent.
5. Bake according to crust packaging. Mine tends to take the upper limit of the cook time, but watch to ensure that your crust doesn't burn!
6. Serve with warmed pizza sauce and enjoy immediately.
7. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers!

What are your go-to easy dinners? Have you made calzones at home before?

Bruschetta Stuffed Portobellas

Happy Thursday lovelies! This week has been substantially better than last week for me, professionally and personally! I am about to be wrapping up a big project for my boss at work- so I will be back to my typical day-to-day for a little while. In addition to work slowing down, I heard from some sweet friends from home and in the blogging community who perked me right up and out of my little funk. I know it's normal to get upset and feel down, but I am so thankful for the people I have been blessed with who keep my spirits up. So thank you! :) Now to the real deal...

Today I wanted to share one of my FAVORITE recipes from Wegman's. I have previously expressed my love for Wegman's supermarket, and I eat there pretty often during the week for lunch. They have an amazing prepared foods line with delicious and healthy options. I just love it! I often gravitate towards their hot veggies and pre-made salads, which is how I was introduced to the item I'm going to share today. If they are available, I can't pass up one of the bruschetta stuffed portobellas! They are hearty and delicious, but don't make you feel weighed down afterwards.

These babies are not only delicious, but they are remarkably easy to make. Such a short ingredient list- portobella mushrooms, pre-made bruschetta, shredded mozzarella, olive oil, and S&P. I made 3, and plan to reheat them for the rest of the week to make healthy eating later in the week easy.

Bruschetta Stuffed Portobellas
Recipe from Wegmans

4 Large Portobella Mushrooms
2 tbsp Olive Oil
8 oz pre-made Bruschetta
4 oz shredded Mozarella
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Rinse mushrooms, remove stem, and scoop out gills. Pat empty caps dry and place scooped side up in a baking sheet. Drizzle caps evenly with olive oil and sprinkle S&P as desired. Bake 15 minutes.
3. Remove from oven and drain juices. Fill caps with bruschetta mix and top with cheese. Bake for additional 7-8 minutes.
4. Remove from oven when cheese is melted and enjoy!

Have you ever made this or something similar? What are your favorite ways to use portobellas?

Easy Mini Pizza Bagels

Hi readers! Today I want to share with you an easy recipe for mini pizza bagels.

This was my first time making them at home, but my inspiration dates back to my days at Georgia Tech. I studied biochemistry in college and our major building was located in a beautiful quad with the other sciences. Nestled in this quad was an Einstein Bro. Bagels that was filled with studying students from open to close. It had a line EVERY time you went in, any hour, and served up the best study snacks as well as piping hot coffee. Due to the long lines, I rarely wanted to drop in before class so this was a place reserved for serious study sessions. One day, I met a sorority sister to study here over coffee and snacks before a big midterm test. She suggested that we get the pizza bagels, an item not typically on the Einstein menus. Long story short, I fell in love with the crunchy cheesy goodness that was a pepperoni pizza bagel.

I thought it would be a fun (and delicious) recipe to re-create! Also, the finished product is just so adorable and reminds me of a homemade bagel bite! I have scaled down this recipe to serve one person- I paired two mini pizzas with a salad and will have the others for lunch tomorrow! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, and let me know if you give them a try!

Mini Bagel Pizzas
This recipe is adapted from The Comfort of Cooking.

2 mini bagels, halved
4 tablespoons pizza or pasta sauce
shredded mozzarella
desired toppings (I used chopped pepperonis)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Arrange bagel halves on sheet, ensuring nothing is touching. Spread 1 tablespoon of sauce on each bagel half, avoiding the center hole.
3. Sprinkle desired amount of cheese atop sauce. Place toppings on cheese.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes and enjoy!