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Monday, March 17, 2014

March Madness Idea: Chicken Taco Calzones

So.
I started looking through my Pinterest board of things to try the other day.  You know what I pin a lot of?  Muffins.  I know I keep talking about the fact that I need to separate out my boards into more organized groups, but I don't.  It's always fun to go through and try to find things from time to time.
The starting point for this recipe is a case in point.  I found it when digging through all of my pins, looking for something else.  The original pin used Pillsbury Grands for the dough, and nothing but chicken, taco seasoning and cheese inside.  I made a couple of changes, my own dough, and came up with something that would make a nice and easy dinner if you're spending the next 3 weekends watching basketball.  (Or really, you could make this for any night.  I just know what will be on around here the next few weekends.  Go Blue!)
I present to you now our Saturday night dinner, Taco Chicken Calzones:


Ingredients:
1 recipe Pizza Dough (I made the same one I made for Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Pockets)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tsp oil
2 c shredded cooked chicken
1 pkg taco seasoning
1/2 c water
1 c cheddar cheese, shredded

Method:
1.  Prepare dough according to bread machine instructions.  Divide into 4 pieces.
2.  During the final rise of the dough, prepare the filling.  In a large skillet, heat oil and cook onion until translucent.  Add chicken and heat through before adding seasoning and water.  Cook 5-10 minutes, until water is absorbed.
3.  Preheat oven to 425F.  Press each round of dough into a 6" circle.  Spoon 1/4 of the chicken mixture onto one side of the dough, leaving a border for sealing.  Sprinkle with 1/4 c shredded cheese.  Fold the other half of the circle over the filling and pinch to seal.
4.  Transfer each calzone to a baking sheet, taking care not to tear the dough.  Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes, until golden.  Serve with salsa and sour cream.
Next time, I'd like to add peppers when I make the filling.  I think I could get away with less chicken with the peppers.
This looked like a lot of cheese, but it melted through the filling and was gone when we bit into the calzones.  The flavour in these was so good.  I like the salsa with them too. The cold salsa was great with the really hot pocket.
But one was enough, and the leftovers were good too.  Ready for the game, or just dinner.  Yum.

2 comments:

  1. Those look REALLY good. I love anything in this concept. They're excellent to put in the freezer or take on the go too. I should make them more often!

    I wish pinterest had a good way to easily reorganize boards - like in a batch, so I could separate out different recipes that are all currently on the SAME board. I write them a note intermittently asking for this feature, but so far no dice. BOO.

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  2. These look great and sound gorgeous. I love to make pizzas and calzones so I'm always on the lookout for new ideas. I also use the breadmaker to make my dough - definitely easier than making it by hand.

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