Spinach Ricotta Calzones!

I know I'm late with this post, as it's about our family's SB party a few weeks ago  (think football....I'm told I can't officially use the words super and bowl to describe that big happening in the beginning of February - LOL!) . Dave and I are typically the hosts for this event, but this year my house was -and still is - TOTALLY torn apart, due to a wonderful house renovation we're working on. Hospitality is my "thing", so it was difficult to call on my kids to host the party this year. My oldest daughter hesitantly agreed, but on the condition that it was to be strictly family, as her house is smaller than ours. That day, I was in a lazy, but hungry mood....I KNEW I wanted something good (read:"reasonably healthy") to take to the party. I also knew there would be plenty of other yummy man-foods there for my hubby, so I didn't have to cater to his tastes. Thus.....the spinach calzone! When we arrived, it completely surprised me at how many folks there were thrilled to see this calzone. There were no leftovers that night, so guess what I did later that week........I made another one just for me! 

I hope you enjoy munching on this as much as I do! 

Spinach Ricotta Calzone

Filling:

1 pkg (10 ounces) frozen  chopped spinach, cooked, cooled and squeezed dry

1 Cup shredded mixed Italian-blend cheese (or mozzarella)

1 Cup ricotta cheese

½ tsp. basil

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. pepper

¼ tsp. dried minced onion

Combine filling ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Crust/Dough:

1 Cup warm water

1 pkg/Tbsp. Red Star Platinum yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

2 ½-2 ¾ Cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

Topping:

Egg wash: 1 egg white, mixed with a small amount of water

Grated parmesan cheese

Place warm water and yeast in EZ DOH bucket and stir to dissolve yeast. Let rest 1 minute. Add one cup of flour, then additional dough ingredients. EZ DOH-it for 2-3 minutes, or until dough is smooth and soft and all ingredients are incorporated, adding flour as necessary to achieve a dough that is not sticky.  Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” dough and replace in bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Grease a 16” pizza pan. Roll the dough out to a 16” circle. Place the combined filling ingredients over half of the dough. Pull the remainder of the dough over the filled portion and seal by pinching. Pierce the top crust several times with a fork. Place in pizza pan (if you haven’t rolled out the dough there J )  Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, until golden. Serve with pizza/spaghetti sauce, if desired.

Spinach Ricotta Calzones!