November 27, 2011: Quick and Easy Southwestern Pizza Calzones Recipe

Have you tried any of the Kraft Cooking Crème? The basis is cream cheese, which is whipped up with various herbs and spices. So far I’ve tried the Garlic one and the Southwestern one. While they’re handy to use with pasta, I’ll warn you right now that a little can go a long way. I had a real dinner disaster one night when I decided to use the garlic crème, straight, to stuff enchiladas. They were so bad I had to throw most of the dish away.

But I persevered and tried using the crème again. This time I got the proportion right.

Southwestern Pizza Calzones

1 package refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 6-ounce package pepperoni (or half pound cooked, crumbled pork sausage)

2 t. olive oil

½ bell pepper, minced

8 ounces mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T. diced green chiles (either freshly roasted or from a can)

½ container Kraft Cooking Crème, Southwestern flavor

4 ounces Colby Jack cheese, shredded

2 t. butter

Garlic salt or powder (optional)

Open the package of crescent rolls and carefully separate at perforations so you have four rectangles. On a floured surface, roll out the rectangles to a 6 inch square, pressing the diagonal seam together so the square doesn’t have any separations. Divide the pepperoni into fourths and place on half of each dough square.

Heat olive oil in a skillet to medium low. Add peppers and sauté for two minutes; add mushrooms and garlic and sauté for two more minutes, until vegetables are soft. Turn off heat and add green chile and cooking crème. Mix together.

Spoon one quarter of the crème mixture on top of the pepperoni. Top each with a quarter of the shredded cheese. Fold opposite side of dough over the filling to form a turnover. Press edges together. Place on baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Melt butter and brush over the tops of each calzone. Sprinkle lightly with garlic salt, if desired.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, until golden brown and completely cooked through.

Serves 4

May 30, 2011: Veggie Pizza Appetizer Recipe

This recipe is one I adapted from a recipe on a can of crescent roll dough, back when Pillsbury was offering a sheet of dough rather than the separated triangles. I thought it was great because crescent rolls are so good for making many different recipes, in particular appetizers. I’m not sure if Pillsbury just isn’t making this product anymore or whether it’s just my local grocery store that doesn’t carry it.

The good news is that this recipe can still be made with crescent rolls and it’s still a real crowd pleaser. I served these as an appetizer for my Memorial Day barbecue.

Tip: This veggie pizza looks especially appealing when you use a variety of colors for the vegetables. For something extra special, try using orange and yellow bell peppers, Heirloom or sweet grape tomatoes, pimientos, red onions, and carrot peels in addition to the traditionally green veggies.

Veggie Pizza

2 cans crescent rolls
1 8-ounce brick cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 package dry Ranch dressing seasoning mix
1 t. garlic salt
About ¼ cup chopped parsley or chiffonade fresh cilantro, sage, or basil (depending on what type of veggies you are using)
1 small head broccoli
½ bell pepper
½ cup onion
6 radishes, thinly sliced
Curls from 1 large carrot, peeled
Variety of fresh, seasonal vegetables of your choice (see note above)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Open the packages of crescent rolls and separate the two halves. Unroll the halves but don’t separate. Place the crescent rolls on a large, ungreased cookie sheet, abutting each other, to cover as much of the sheet as possible. Using your fingers, press the seams together. Use a rolling pin to spread the crescents out to a thin layer. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

In this photo, I've used 19 crescent rolls in order to best fit the cookie sheet.

Meanwhile, mix together the softened cream cheese, sour cream, ranch dressing mix, and garlic salt.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the warm crescent roll pastry.

Finally chop all vegetables. Sprinkle over the cream cheese-covered pastry. Top with herb chiffonade. Slice into 2 inch squares and refrigerate until cold.

Tip: For a variation, try using one cup this chipotle garlic ranch dressing recipe mixed with the cream cheese.

Makes ~18 squares.