Easy Cheesy Calzone

This is a simple recipe for delicious calzone.  I either buy my pizza dough from my local Italian bakery or buy it in a 2 pk in the frozen aisle the brand "House of Pasta", alternatively you can make your own homemade dough.  This is great as a just cheese calzone, or can be stuffed with veggies, meat, or anything your heart desires ~ be creative!  For this one I used some leftover meatballs and sauce.

1 Pizza dough at room temp on a lightly floured surface

About 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

approx 3 oz  mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes

1 Tbsp Parmigiana

1/2 tsp garlic powder

sprinkle of dried parsley flakes

salt and pepper to taste 

Fillings if desired, I used 1 1/2 sliced leftover meatballs and covered them in marinara sauce.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and set rack to the lowest position and the second in the upper third of the oven.  Lightly coat a 9 X 13 in pan with olive oil.  Mix cheeses and spices together in a bowl.  Coat pizza dough lightly in flour to prevent sticking, stretch out to an oblong shape - approx 9X13, and lay in pan.  Cover half the dough with cheese mixture, leaving about 1/2 in border on edges.  Sprinkle toppings over cheese.  Pull other half of dough over topping and crimp the edges together.  Poke several slits in the top of dough and brush top with olive oil.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned on the underside, then transfer and rotate pan to the upper rack and continue baking another 15-20 minutes, or longer until a deep golden brown.  Remove from oven and let stand 10-12 minutes before cutting and serving.  

Enjoy!