Ham and Cheese Calzone

I'm one of those people that haphazardly buys supplies at the grocery store with no set weekly menu in mind. I know what we need, what we might want, and what would go well with what we already have. Then, we just fly by the seat of our pants. I usually decide mid-day what we are having for dinner. It works well for us. We are flexible. This works very well for a few reasons. We never know if there are going to be any stragglers. We also might decide late in the day to go on an adventure which changes dinner plans. We might have a craving. Or we just might have spent way to much time outside playing in our oasis of a backyard that we need to make something healthy and yummy and super fast.

But every once in a while, I get a request. We usually get stragglers on Wednesdays. And one of those stragglers requested a calzone. He threw out some suggestions on preferred fillings and I went with one of those.

It was a big hit. For me, it was easy peasy lemon squeezie. For everyone, it was scrumdiddlyumptious.

And because I was taught to share, I will let you in on how to make one.

First you need fillings. A meat, a veggie (if you roll that way), and a cheese.

I chose ham, broccoli, and sharp cheddar.

I opted on getting a chunk of sharp cheddar from the deli counter and shredding it myself. I wanted the most flavorful cheese experience.

I used this ham. I wanted to keep this recipe easy so I was not about to make a small ham. I also didn't want deli ham slices. This seemed to be the perfect medium. It was very flavorful and came in large, thick slices.

You also need something to house all those toppings. I went with a pizza crust. You can use any pizza crust your little heart desires. You can make one from scratch. Or you can do what I did. In keeping with the easy part, I used a Jiffy box of pizza crust. I like it, but to be honest with you, I love the Great Value brand pizza crust that comes in a bag the best. But I got my goods from the grocery store in town and they had Jiffy so I went with that.

So anyway. Roll whatever dough you choose out into a giant circle.

Fill half of the crust with the goods, leaving a rim around the edge so you can pinch the whole thing shut.

I over compensated with the broccoli. Sorry. I only needed a little bit. But don't fret. I used all the ham and cheese! Priorities, baby.

Fold the other half of the dough over the innards. Fold the crust over and then pinch it shut with a fork.  Transfer your calzone onto a baking sheet.

Make an egg wash. For this, just whisk an egg with a splash of milk.

Brush the egg wash over the entire calzone.

Bake the calzone for 25-30 minutes at 425 degrees or until the crust is a nice golden brown.

Kinda like that. Hello there, stud.

Ooooey gooooey melted cheese surrounding ham and broccoli? Yes please!

Alright. So here's the deal. You can fill this with anything you want.

Turkey, mushrooms, and mozzarella

Pepperoni, pizza sauce, and mozzarella

Chicken, Alfredo sauce, and mozzarella

Turkey, cooked bacon chunks, Alfredo sauce, and broccoli

Thinly sliced steak, pepper jack, and onions

Basically, pick a meat, a veggie if you want, a cheese, and maybe a sauce if you want to get all crazy.

Ham and Cheese Calzone

Ingredients

2 cups ham, cubed
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cups broccoli, trimmed
1 pizza crust
1 egg
splash milk

Do it

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Place the ingredients on one side of the pizza crust. Fold over and seal.

Beat egg and milk. Brush on the outside.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown.