Chicken Parm Calzone

Well, football season is back!! Which on top of cheering on your favorite team, means lazy Sundays, good food and Shipyard Pumpkinhead (in my household at least!). To kickoff the season, I decided to make a chicken parm calzone. Calzones are one of my favorite go-to's because not only are they ridiculously easy to make, but you can be creative and switch up the ingredients to satisfy your cravings - chicken parm, BBQ chicken, buffalo chicken, chicken and broccoli, meatball, steak & cheese... the possibilities are endless!

Ingredients:

• 1 ball of pizza dough (or make your own)
• 1 pkg. chicken (I used tenders)
• 2 eggs (in two separate bowls- 1 bowl with 1 egg-white and 1 bowl with remaining yolk from egg white and 1 whole egg )
• 1/2 - 1 cup flour
• 1/2 - 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce of your choice (I used Classico Tomato & Basil, but sometimes make my own)
• Cornmeal
• Olive oil
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2) Sprinkle a little cornmeal onto your pizza stone
3) Roll out dough into a semi-rectangular shape (make sure dough is room temperature before you start rolling)
4) Once dough is rolled, leave about 4 inches in the center and cut approx. 1/2-1 inch strips on each side (see picture below)
5) In the meantime, heat approx. 2 tbsp. olive oil in a frying pan
6) Set up breading station
7) Bread chicken (dip in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs) and place in frying pan (NOTE: For breading, use the egg bowl that has 1 whole egg + 1 yolk. The egg white from one of the eggs will be used later)
8) Cook on med-high heat for approx. 5 min each side (or until browned and chicken is cooked through)
9) Set aside and let cool
10) Once chicken is cooled down, cut into pieces (approx. 1" cubes)
11) Place into bowl and add 1 cup tomato sauce
12) Add salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste and mix together
13) Spread approx. 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese on dough
14) Add chicken mixture and spread evenly
15) Top with remainder of mozzarella cheese.
16) Close calzone by criss-crossing the cut strips of the dough (see picture below).
17) Brush egg white on enclosed calzone (this helps to brown up the crust)
18) Bake for 25-30 minutes

  

   

 

 

GO PATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!