Sausage, Peppers and Onions Calzone

I decided to venture into territory that is completely new to me - working with pizza dough. My husband was really wanting a sausage and peppers calzone but without all the grease, fat and heaviness. The calzone he usually orders at one of our local italian restaurants is very fattening. I would assume, eating the entire calzone, would clock in at about 1,500-2,000 calories. It is way too rich for just being a meal! With a bit of inspiration and eagerness to tackle a new project - I made these awesome figure-friendly calzones! I was so pleased with how great these came out. The dough wasn't soft or soggy - just crisp and delicious! I purchased a pound of pizza dough from the grocery - which saved me a lot of time. All I really had to do was make the filling and assemble the calzones. It took a bit of time trying to figure out how to assemble these, but once I got the first one down, the others came together very quickly. I can't wait to try it different ingredients and flavors.

I used my go-to jarred pasta sauce - Newman's Own Organic Tomato and Basil as my sauce. You could use whatever sauce you enjoy - but I highly recommend this one. I made my calzone without cheese, and it was perfect. So it can be made dairy-free if you choose. My husband enjoys cheese - so his was nice and cheesy. The nutritional info is calculated with cheese. I only had sharp cheddar cheese on hand, so that's what I used. It worked very well with the filling. I'm sure any kind of good melting cheese will work. 

Sausage, Peppers and Onions Calzone

Cook Time: < 35 minutes
Prep Time: < 15 minutes
Serves: 4 

Ingredients:

• olive oil spray
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 medium bell peppers, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 16oz lean turkey sausage, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1lb fresh pizza dough
• 3 tbsp flour (for working with the dough)
• 2/3 cup 2% cheddar cheese, shredded 
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 1/3 cup of pasta or marinara sauce, warmed

Allow the dough to come to room temp while you are preparing the filling. 

Preheat the oven to 400F and prep a large cookie sheet with a little olive oil spray. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers. Saute for about 10 minutes, stirring often. 

Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add the sausage, salt, pepper, and dried basil - cook for another 5-10 minutes (until the turkey sausage is cooked throughout). Once it is cooked, set aside and begin working on the dough.

On a floured surface, place the dough and cut into 4 pieces. Beginning working on the first piece. Punch the dough down, to release the gases inside and gradually begin stretching it out (I just gradually pulled at each side evenly, until I got my desired thickness). Make sure your hands have some flour on them to prevent sticking. 

Once you have man-handled the dough, place on the cookie sheet and sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese into the middle. Then top with 1/4 of the sausage mixture. Make sure to spread it out evenly. 

Grab one corner and fold to the other side and do this to all sides until the calzone is completely wrapped. Flip the calzone so that the edges are tucked underneath. 

Repeat the steps needed to make the other calzones. Once they are all ready, lightly brush the tops with a little egg and transfer the sheet to the oven. 

Allow the calzones to bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and the dough is cooked through. 

Top the calzones with 1/3 cup of the pasta sauce and serve hot. 

Nutritional Info per Calzone and 1/3 cup of the sauce:
Calories: 565 ; Fat: 18g ; Carbohydrate: 70g ; Fiber: 5g ; Sugar: 10g ; Protein: 32.5g

Nutritional Info per Calzone (no sauce):
Calories: 500 ; Fat: 15.5g ; Carbohydrate: 60.5g; Fiber: 5g ; Sugar: 2g ; Protein: 31.5

Skinny Baked Italian Pasta

When I've got people coming over for dinner, I try to make sure everyone can enjoy the meal. Making a baked pasta with some cheese, meat and veggies seems to always win the hearts of my guests. It is also quite affordable to make when you've got a handful of people to feed. Now most baked pasta dishes I've had are quite heavy. They consist of a lot of meat, cheese and oil, with very little veg except the tomato sauce. This is a much better for you version! Who knew pasta could be figure friendly? I hear from clients that pasta is a diet no-no, but it doesn't have to be. I don't believe in giving up the foods you enjoy, but enjoying them in a healthier and portion controlled manner. By adding a bit more veg, reducing the cheese, choosing lean meats - this can be a great main dish to serve. Serving it with a fresh garden salad can make this a simple meal everyone can enjoy (even the kids!). No one has to know you've lighten-up a hearty dish like this one! So go ahead - eat your pasta, you deserve to savor the food you enjoy. 


The baby bella mushrooms are more flavorful and meatier than white button mushrooms, so I highly recommend using them. If you are concerned about the spice factor, then opt for a mild Italian turkey sausage. If you can't find turkey sausage, most stores have pork Italian sausages, just be aware the nutritional info may go up some. If you have a gluten intolerance, just substitute the pasta and bread crumbs for gluten free versions (rice, quinoa, etc). 

Skinny Baked Italian Pasta

Cook Time: < 35 minutes
Prep Time: < 10 minutes
Serves: 9


Ingredients:

• 1 lb of whole wheat penne pasta
• 6 cups of plain organic tomato sauce 
• 2 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 8oz of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup of frozen chopped spinach
• 1 lb of grass-fed lean ground beef
• 2 hot Italian turkey sausages, remove from casing
• 1 cup of part skim ricotta
• 1/3 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs
• 1-2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 1oz fresh Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• olive oil spray

In a large stock pot, cook the penne in salted water, until almost completely cooked (make sure to not over cook). Drain the pasta and set aside in a side bowl.


In a medium pot add the tomato sauce and Italian seasoning and bring to almost a boil. Cover, lower heat and allow to simmer while everything is cooking. Add salt and pepper if you'd like. This sauce should simmer about 10 minutes or longer. 


As the pasta and sauce is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and the garlic and allow to saute for about 4-5 minutes. 

Then add the mushrooms, spinach and salt and pepper to taste. Allow the mixture to cook for 4-5 more minutes. Remove from the stove and set it aside on a side plate. Wipe down the skillet.


In the same skillet, add the ground beef and turkey sausage. Crumble and brown until completely cooked through (about 10 minutes).

Then in the large stock pot you used to cook the pasta, add the pasta back in, mushroom mixture, cooked ground meat, tomato sauce and the ricotta cheese. Stir everything together well. Make sure to coat the pasta well with the sauce. 

In a 13 x 9 pan, pour the pasta mixture in and spread out evenly. Sprinkle the bread crumbs, parsley and cheese over top. Spray lightly with a little olive oil spray over the top of the breadcrumbs.

Bake, uncovered for 20 minutes. Then place under the broiler for 1 minute or 2 to brown to the top. Allow the pasta to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Info per (generous-sized) serving:
Calories: 425 ; Fat: 11.5g ; Carbohydrate: 50g ; Fiber: 8g; Sugar: 5g ; Protein: 29g 

Nutritional Info per Serving:
Calories: 420 ; Fat: 10.5g ; Carbohydrate: 50g; Fiber: 9g ; Sugar: 7.5g ; Protein: 29.5g

Sweet and Savory Turkey Meatloaf

"Mom, MEATLOAF!"


Meatloaf is a total comfort food for me. It's just one of those things that you can't go wrong with. What I love about it is that you can mix it up with different flavors and still come out with an awesome meal. This time around I made a fairly simple meatloaf. I like to cook my veggies before putting them in the meatloaf, I find it gives it a lot more flavor. Also the onions have a chance to release some of the moisture so the meatloaf isn't too wet. I like to use sausage in my meatloaf because it gives it an extra something. The seasonings used give it a unique flavor. You can use any flavor you enjoy. I got a spicy chicken sausage but if you prefer to use a mild Italian or country style sausage, that will work as well. Because the seasonings added to this meatloaf are very basic, it makes it easy to customize it to your liking.


Brown sugar on meatloaf? What!? Please... try it. It really enhances it. Think about it. Some people put ketchup or BBQ sauce on top of their meatloaf. Both have an element of sweet. So don't knock it, til you try it. As for the sausage, I purchased a fresh sausage from the meat dept. at Whole Foods and removed it from it's casing. Crumbled it up a bit with my hands and there you go - ground sausage. Now you can purchase ground sausage but I think it is usually country style or breakfast sausage. Which will work as well in this recipes.

Sweet and Savory Turkey Meatloaf 

Cook Time: 1 hr and 10 mins
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4 (2 slices each)


Ingredients:

• oil spray
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 a bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1/4lb. ground sausage (or 1 large link)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp brown sugar, packed (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Get a loaf pan and spray liberally with olive oil.


In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add cumin, salt and pepper. Stir well. Add the Worcestershire and remove the mixture from the heat. Set aside and let cool for 5-10 minutes.


In a side bowl, combine by hand, the turkey and sausage. Then add the bread crumbs, egg, salt/pepper and the onion mixture. Mix by hand, until incorporated (be careful to not over mix).


Place the mixture into the loaf pan and evenly spread it out. Cook in the oven for 60 minutes or until the internal temp is 165F.


Then sprinkle the top with the brown sugar and broil for about a minute or until the sugar melts in and forms a crust. Remove from oven.


Let the meatloaf sit for about 5-10 mins. Cut into 8 slices and serve :)