Recipe of the Week: Veggie Calzones

Week 2 of Vegetarian month went really well. These Veggie Calzones are one of my absolute favorite recipes. They are, of course, out of the Skinny Bitch cookbook. I've made them before, but this time I tried shaping the calzones a little differently.... into homemade Hot Pockets! I also made them into little Veggie Pot Pies in our ramekins. The versatility of the dough, the sauce, and the veggies really allows you to play around with the recipe so it doesn't get old.

Made into a pot pie of sorts.

Veggie Calzones

Ingredients:
Filling
1/3 c. oil (I use olive oil... you can also use grapeseed)
1/3 c onion
1/2 zucchini
1/2 yellow squash
1 c mushrooms
Plus any other veggies you'd like -- I add bell peppers (which are a must!)
Salt & Pepper

1 c mozzarella (Vegan or non)

Sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBS dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/3 c red wine
1 c crushed tomatoes

Pizza dough
1 c warm water
1/2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS oil
2 cups white flour
1 cup wheat flour

Instructions:
 Saute veggies until tender. Season with salt & pepper.

Make the sauce: heat oil and add garlic, oregano, thyme and cook 2 minutes. Add wine, bring to boil and let cook at slow boil until reduced halfway. Add salt and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes.

Made into a Hot Pocket type shape.

Add sautéed vegetable to sauce.

Make the dough... Heat oven for 10 minutes then turn off. Mix the yeast and salt into warm water. Leave 5 minutes until bubbly. Add salt and 1 TBS oil. Then slowly add the white flour. Mix in the wheat flour by hand. Put in oiled oven-safe dish, cover, then put in (turned off but still warm) oven for 1 hour.

Roll out dough to desired thickness, and desired amount of calzones. This is where I deviate. You can roll them into round balls (like mini pizzas) then fold in half. Or, I do them in rectangles and make into Hot Pocket-like shapes. I've also used the dough as a pot pie crust.

Add the vegetable/sauce mixture and cheese. Fold to cover filling and pinch edges to seal. Make a small incision to allow venting.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees.