Spaghetti and Meatball STUFFED Calzones

I feel a carb coma coming on just reading the title.  How about you?  Do you know who had this idea?  I will give you one guess..........wait for it.............wait for it.............GEORGE!  Admittedly though, when he suggested I try this, my mouth salivated like a rabid dog all the way to the grocery store.

I am a bit addicted to spaghetti and meatballs.......  Since my childhood when my made it every single birthday because I would request it, I have loved it.  We would sometimes make spaghetti and meatball sandwiches with the garlic bread the next day.  This reminded me of that!

I used prepackaged items simply because this was a last minute request, and so yea.....I cheated.  Majorly cheated.  I will link my meatballs, marinara and pizza dough recipes below if you want to do all homemade. 

12 oz spaghetti, cooked
24 oz marinara sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
frozen meatballs that you have thawed (about 5 per calzone)
2 cans of store bought pizza dough
olive oil
oregano

Boil your pasta, drain and let cool.  In a large bowl combine the pasta, with the marinara sauce.  Mix until combined and set aside. 

Here is where you decide if you are making 4 LARGE calzones or 8 smaller.  The choice is  yours, the only thing it affects is how many meatballs you use or how you portion out the spaghetti mixture.  Either do it in 8 or 4.

Unroll and cut your dough to the size you have decided on.  Place your spaghetti on first, in equal portions.  Next, add on your cheese.  Let it RAAAIIINNNN cheese friends! (as you can see we made 4 huge ones)

Then go the meatballs!  I cut them in half!

Now, fold it over and press the edges down to seal.  You can use a fork to press down the edges to seal better!

Place onto a baking sheet you have sprayed with cooking spray.  Drizzle the top with olive oil and brush on evenly.  You can sprinkle on some oregano if you like!

Bake according to the pizza dough package directions.  Right after you take them out, sprinkle the top with a little Parmesan if you like!  Let sit about 5 minutes before serving!

ENJOY!

RECIPES for homemade ingredients!
Pizza Dough
Meatballs and Sauce

Zeppole

Good evening friends!  Hoping this finds you all enjoying a beautiful day!  I was recently going through the recipes I have shared with you and when I realized I hadn't shared this one, it was a MUST do.  My poor husband, was so upset I was making these for him....again!

Zeppole are the equivalent of like......an American "donut hole".  They are fried balls of dough, which in my life,  is pizza dough!  You can buy pizza dough or you can use my recipe, which I have deemed the best ever.  Click here for that recipe. 

These are very simple.  After you fry them you can toss them in powdered sugar, regular sugar, cinnamon sugar, etc.  The options are limitless.  I filled half of mine  on this batch with pastry cream!  You can find that recipe here.  You could also use vanilla instant pudding or whipped cream to fill these.  I don't usually fill mine but I was hungry for this version, thus doing half.  Let's get started on these quick and easy zeppole!

1 ball of pizza dough (or more if you are making a TON)
vegetable/canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Prepare a cooking sheet or large platter, by lining it with paper towels.  In a medium bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.  Set aside.   Get 4 inches of oil into a pot.  Bring up to 350 degrees F.  While that is heating up, using a pizza cutter for ease, cut the flattened out dough ball into strips.  Then cut small pieces from those strips, like this.   Don't cut them TO big, they will blow up in size when you fry them!

Take each piece and just quickly roll into a ball.  This is optional but I always do it.  Do this with the entire ball of dough.  When the oil is ready, drop in a few at at time.  They won't take long, and when they are golden brown they are ready!

 Remove and place on paper towel lined platter.  Take them and immediately toss them in your cinnamon sugar mixture.  Toss to coat and transfer to a serving platter.

Let cool for 5 minutes before filling, IF you are filling them.  Otherwise, dive in, these are best when they are still warm!

Enjoy your zeppole, I know we did!

Your "is there such a thing as a bad version of a donut?" Chefwannabe

PS.  Confession.  I didn't use all my pastry cream, so I used it to dip some of the regular zeppole in.  Yes, I did.  I am not proud, but I do not regret it. LOL

Pretzels, Sweet, Savory and Stuffed!

Good evening ladies, gents and children of ALL ages!  I hope your day has been wonderful and your evening is off to a relaxing start!!

I have made soft pretzels so many times, for so many years and I realized, though I always share photos with you I have never shared my recipe with you!  How RUDE of me?  These remind my husband of home (Jersey) and my dad of home (Philly) and I enjoy making them a batch every chance I get.  I know what is like to miss the flavors and people of home so I do what I can!  Oh, in fact I have a great photo of the 2 of them enjoying some last Father's Day!!  See these mustard lovin' guys?  I call them my "easties"!

Mustard is the topping of choice in our family although I like to make cinnamon and sugar ones that we dip in caramel sauce or cream cheese icing! Ack!  You can see in the photo some are topped with kosher salt and some are not, those are the sweet ones.  You can also see the pretzel dog bites on the top!

I hope that you enjoy these soft pretzels, they are not hard, just a little time consuming, nah, not even all that time consuming, just make them, you won't regret it!  This is a really basic recipe, I have made just a few changes to.

1 1/2 cups water (110 degrees)
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 packet of yeast
2 tbsp melted butter
4 1/2 cups flour

7 cups water
1/3 cup baking soda

1 egg
Kosher salt
Cinnamon Sugar (1 tbsp cinnamon+1/4 cup graulated sugar)

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add in water, sugar, salt and sprinkle yeast over the top.  Let it sit for 5 minutes and become foaming on top before you continue.  Fit your mixer with the dough hook!  Add in melted butter and flour and let it go for 4-6 minutes.  The dough should be nice and uniform in color and texture, it will have cleaned off the entire bowl of all flour and liquid like this....

 





Turn out into a bowl that has been coated in oil or sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Cover and let sit for 1 hour in a warm place.  The dough should double in size.  It will look like this...

In a large, wide pot or a roasting pan, fill with water and baking soda and begin bringing this to a boil.  Preheat oven to 450.  Get 2 cookie sheets ready by laying them with parchment paper and spraying with nonstick spray on top of that, then, set aside.

At this point you will turn the dough out unto a floured surface.  You have  couple of options.  Well I am sure you have way more options than that, I just used these 2 options!

1. Divide into 12 pieces, roll into a snake and shape into a U shape.  Take the ends at the top of each side of the U, criss cross them downward and smoosh into the bottom part of the U. (I now realize I should have double twisted the crisscross, sue me)  Making a pretzel shape.  Do this with all 12 pieces.  OR

2.  Using all beef hot dogs or little smokies, take a small ball of dough 1 inch in diameter and flatten it out.  Lay a piece of all beef hot dog or 1 little smokie in the center and wrap the dough around, sealing on the bottom. 

3.  Do half and half!!  teehee

Now wait for your water to boil, and carefully place 1 pretzel at a time in for 30-40 seconds, then use a spatula/flipper to take them out.  If they are sturdy enough you can use tongs.  Lay them on your sprayed parchment lined cookie sheets.  If you are doing the hot dog bites, do the same thing. 

Now using 1 egg beaten with a splash of milk, brush the tops and sides of the pretzels/bites with it.  Then sprinkle on kosher salt or a mixture of cinnamon and sugar for a sweet pretzel. 

Bake:
Pretzels 10-12 minutes
Bites 7-10 minutes.

Now as I said before, in my family we dip the savory in mustard or cheese.  We dip the sweet in caramel or cream cheese icing and of course we eat the bites with cheese or ketchup.  You do what you like, just make sure you try one of each!  It is what a GOOD chef would do! :)

Your "soft pretzels make me sweat" chefwannabe

Garlic Knots

Warm bread.  What else is there to say really?

Wait, this isn't bread.  It isn't pizza.  It isn't foccacia. 

It IS warm, buttery, delicious and chewy.  Hmmmm. 

Well here is the deal.  When I make my famous pizza dough, (recipe can be found here ) I make a double batch, cut it in half since each recipe will make 2 crusts, pop them in a Ziploc and stick them in the freezer. (like so)  I mean, seriously the things you can make with pizza dough are endless, this is one of the greatest things in my opinion to have on hand in the freezer.

I always put directions on the bags as well!!  Handy for sure!!

When I want or need pizza dough, I stick it in the fridge the night before and thaw.  I make many things from my pizza dough, this is just one of those things.  I let the dough thaw as mentioned before, stick it back in my mixer with a dough hook and add herbs, let it work a couple of minutes and you get a gorgeously flavored dough full of herbs and olive oil!

Before mixing

After mixing

Now you can usually buy pizza dough from your favorite pizzeria, you can make your own or buy it at the store.  Just make sure after you thaw it (if frozen) you let it sit for 30 min and get to room temperature.  It is much easier to work with. 

This recipe will make 6 garlic knots!

1 ball of pizza dough
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp parsley (dried)
2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp melted butter with 1/2 tsp grated or minced garlic mixed in (for after they are baked)

Put all ingredients in your mixer and let it work your dough about 2 minutes.  You can also knead the herbs and olive oil in by hand if you choose!  Cut into 6 pieces and roll them like snakes as far as you can, approx 7 inches.  Tie in a knot and set on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Let them sit and raise.  They won't raise as much as you think they should, so don't worry if they don't double in size!!  Just before baking, egg wash them with your beaten egg.

Bake at 400 degree's for 10-12 minutes.  Immediately upon removing them brush the tops with melted butter and garlic mixture!

It will taste almost like a miracle.  Serve these with pasta dishes, or any dish!  Use them in mini form for a party!  Better yet, make mini ones, and let cool, slice in half and put a mini meatball on it!  The possibilities are endless but as for me....I am going to enjoy them hot, and garlic buttery with a little pasta!

Your "wishes her middle name was garlicina" chefwannabe

Kraut Burger

I know you are already sitting there with your head cocked to the side, thanking..."What the heck is THAT"?

Here is the definition per Wikipedia:

A runza (also called a bierock, fleischkuche or Kraut Pirok) is a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of beef, pork, cabbage orsauerkraut, onions, and seasonings. They are baked in various shapes such as a half-moon, rectangle, round (bun), square, or triangle. In Nebraska, the runza is usually baked in a rectangular shape. The bierocks of Kansas, on the other hand, are generally baked in the shape of a bun.

I have heard of them called "Kraut Burgers" recently. The sandwich originated in Russia during the 1800s and spread to Germany before appearing in the United States. The term bierock comes from the Russian word pirogi or pirozhki and is the term for any food consisting of a savory filling stuffed dough. The recipe was spread throughout the United States by the Volga Germans and can be found in North and South Dakota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas and Nebraska. The term "runza" is registered as a trademark in the United States by Nebraska-based Runza Restaurants

In Nebraska "Runza" is a trademarked fast food chain.  They are delicious.  Well my husband hates them but tonight he loved mine.  He informed me they almost tasted like a White Castle Burger. What?  Anyway, my opinion is, homemade bread makes all the difference.  This is a recipe I got from my mom. Let's get moving on gettin'er done.

Bread Dough for Kraut Burgers
 

5-6 cups of flour

2 pkg's dry yeast

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups hot water

1/2 cup butter softened

2 eggs

Combine 2 cups flour, yeast and sugar.  Put into stand mixer fitted with a dough hook  and combine completely.  Add butter and hot water, mix 2 minutes and add eggs and 1 more cup of flour.  Let mix for 2 minutes and add remaining 2 cups of flour, 1 at a time.  I had to end up using an extra 1/2 cup.  Let knead for 3 minutes or until your dough is a nice soft dough, not sticky.  Turn out into a bowl sprayed with nonstick spray or vegetable oil and let rise 45 minutes.  While it is raising, let's get to work on the filling!

Filling:

2 lbs ground beef

4 cups shredded cabbage

1 cup onion, minced FINE  

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup beef stock

2 tbsp butter

American Cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter in a large pot, add onions and cook for 3-4 minutes until translucent. (Even if you omit the onions, add the butter.) Add in ground beef and cook until browned and broken up well.  Add Worcestershire sauce and mix thoroughly.  Dump in cabbage (it will wilt a lot) and then mix again. 

Pour in stock and put the lid on and cook for 20 minutes on low stirring occasionally. 

Divide dough into 2 parts.  Roll each section out and cut into 6 pieces.  Put a piece of cheese in the middle (optional) and add as much filling as you can fit on! Bring all the corners to the middle and seal by pinching.
 

Flip over and put onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.   You should get 12 out of this batch of dough and filling.   When you are finished with all of them let them rise for 30-45 minutes.  Brush them with an egg wash or spray with nonstick cooking spray for a nice color.  Bake for 20-25 minutes

We made some round, made some long, just like the real Runza restaurant. That of course was my husband's idea because ya know, husbands get what they want right?  Ok mine does (lovey gushy eyes)  

I hope you enjoy these; I always have to have mine with ketchup!

 

Your "praying I didn't infringe on any copyright crap" chefwannabe

My little "Amish Secret:" Amish Egg Noodles

That title is making you wonder isn't it?  Do the Amish have secrets?  Well, I can tell you one thing for sure, they have cooking secrets!   Near the top of my, "things I miss" about the east coast is the Amish Markets.  We used to go to the one in Williamstown, NJ mostly, sometimes Mullica Hill.  Regardless, if you have never had the chance to visit an Amish Market, please try to in your lifetime.  I don't know how to explain it.  There is just a great vibe, good people, and amazing food. 

On one particular day, I don't think I even remember which market we were at, but it has, or had a pet store.  There were baby pugs and once I got a hold of one, there was no letting it go.  I must have stood in this pet shop for 30 minutes rocking a puppy pug to sleep!  There were mostly kids running the shop, but there was one elderly woman there as well, who I came to know as Nora.  We struck up a conversation and I told her we were going to pick up some pasta and head home.  She informed me her and daughters made this particular pasta I was wanting.  I told her I was good at keeping secrets and if she wanted to tell me what it was that made it so good I would never tell a soul!  She giggled and told me the secret was LOVE.  I assured her I was in agreement, and she said, "but there is a thing or two we do to make it taste good too".  I prepared to be wowed, to remember some complicated combination of amazing ingredients!  I couldn't believe the simplicity of it all after she told me.  I took this information, stored it in my "remember for all eternity" storage area and have kept it safely hidden there.  Now I want to share it with you!   I sensed she was a woman of great strength and was perhaps a bit stubborn.  She admitted to me she never really enjoyed cooking but eventually she took to it and fed her family great meals! (her words) I think she had a little inner firecracker!

I won't go into the nasty details of how I feel about my pasta maker.  I swore I wouldn't make pasta again until I had the attachment for my new mixer. To be honest, there is a cloud, made up of all naughty words, hanging over the house.  Let's just leave it at that. K?  Such a nice memory of Nora and such obscene words coming from my mouth while trying to keep the crank handle in, wearing steel toed shoes so when it fell out, it didn't break my toe.  Oh the joy!

Now, let's get down to business!  The parsley was the only herb in her recipe.  I love it, but I added a the green onion, thyme and poultry seasoning and it is divine flavor!

Here is what you will need:

2 cups flour

3 eggs

1 tsp salt

1/2 egg shell of milk

2 tbsp parsley

/2 green onion *or 1 tsp grated onion*

1 tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp poultry seasoning

In a food processor combine 1 egg, parsley, onion, thyme, poultry seasoning, and salt.  Zap it a few times until it is very fine, pieces of herbs,  almost liquefied.  Pour the contents into a bowl or stand mixer bowl.  Add remaining 2 eggs and flour and mix until thoroughly combine.  Use your paddle attachment, hand mixer or by hand.  When mixed, set aside, grab a little extra flour and get your pasta machine out or a rolling pin.  Cut ball of dough into 4 pieces.  Roll each through your pasta machine as thin as you like.  Fold in half, and roll through again, reset your thickness and roll through, fold in half, go again and move setting.  Do this until you have your desired thickness.

Lay the sheets out, it will obviously make 4 sheets, thickness depends on your taste. Let sit for 15 minutes.  Using a pizza cutter you can stack them and cut at once or cut each sheet individually.  If you stack them you will need to pull the noodles apart but it is much faster.  

As you can see, I tossed mine into 7 cups of stock, 2 cups of chicken and called it, awesome!!  If only you could taste it.  YUM!  If you have read any of my other blogs I may or may not have divulged I could LIVE on chicken noodle soup, yes I am serious, and no, I have not suffered any recent or past head trauma.  I love it!  Sometimes I put carrots and celery in, and sometimes I don't.  Your choice!

One more important point.  Nora told me to ALWAYS put the milk IN the egg shell, no matter if it is a small or large piece, always put the milk in the shell and then in the mixture.  I don't know why, but I do it, I am not taking any chances!

Your "wish I had just bought that pug when I had the chance"chefwannabe

Chris