Mini Calzones and Spinach & Artichoke Dip

This recipe is a combination of a few different ideas,  and ended up making two dishes instead of one.  The recipe for the filling came from the show 'Every Day Italian' on the Food Network.  Giada made these veggie stuffed pancakes...and while the filling looked yummy I just couldn't wrap my head around putting it in a pancake.  I'm sure it's good I just thought it'd be even better in a calzone ;)  They turned out to be preety darn yummy.  A great way to hide some veggies from the kiddos...or yourself ;)  What I should have realized was that the original recipe made WAY more filling than I needed....so I ended up using that to make spinach & artichoke dip...which turned out to be pretty yummy too :)  If you wanted to just make the calzones you could cut the amount of veggies...or you could make a bigger batch by using two things of pizza dough.

Here is the link to the original reecipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/veggie-stuffed-pancakes-recipe/index.html

And here's how I made it:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup
1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (plus another 1 cup for the dip)
8 oz. sliced pepperoni
1 package refridgerated pizza dough

1/2 to 3/4 cups whole milk

galic salt

pepper

olive oil

Your favorite pizza sauce or marinara sauce and/or ranch for dipping
Directions

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic and saute until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a large bowl. Add the basil, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and mascarpone cheese. Stir the mixture until well mixed.

Roll out the refridgerated pizza dough on a lightly floured surface.  Using a large cookie cutter or a drinking glass cut circles out of the dough.  Once you've cut as many circles as you can pickup the extra dough and roll it out again to cut more circles.  You should be able to get 18-20 circles. 

Preheat according to the teperature on the pizza dough package.  Lightly grease a 9 by 12-inch baking dish (or individual baking dishes). Using about half the vegetable mixture fill the calzones. Lay one circle of dough down on a work surface, top with a tablespoon of vegetable mixture, a slice or two of pepperoni, and sprinkle with some mozzarella cheese. Fold the dough in half around the vegetable mixture and place in the baking dish. Crimp the edges closed with a fork and poke a few holes in the top.  Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with shredded parm.  Continue with the remaining dough, placing in the baking dish about an inch apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Spinach Artichoke Dip:

Place the remaining vegetable mixture in a blender with 1/2 cup whole milk. Blend until smooth.  Return to the pan.  Add 1/4 cup shredded parm and 1 cup shredded.  Heat over medium low heat until cheese is melted.  Season with garlic salt and pepper to taste.  Place in a serving dish.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.  Serve with chips and/or sour dough bread.

yummy