Pumpkin, Sausage & Spinach Calzones

I came across a recipe for pumpkin, sausage and spinach calzones in some magazine. Since I couldn't pin it, I lost track of the actual recipe. But what I ended up making was pretty stinking good. Totally delicious. Decently healthy. Yummy goodness.  

I decided on using the spicy/hot Italian chicken sausage from Sprouts. I like a little kick, but if that's not your thing, sweet Italian sausage would work too. Of course, you can go with turkey, pork, or whatever meat you like. You can also use your cheese of choice. I went with a white extra sharp cheddar. Again, I like things that have a little extra bite or whatever. For time's sake, I rounded up a recipe for no-yeast WW pizza crust from Kristin in Her Kitchen. I also saved some time by using frozen chopped spinach. 

Pumpkin, Sausage & Spinach Calzones

Ingredients for the crust:

1 1/2 cups WW flour

1/2 cup AP flour

1 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup EVOO

Ingredients for the filling:

EVOO

8 oz Italian sausage

2 cups frozen chopped spinach

Salt & pepper

4 heaping TBSP pureed pumpkin

3-4 oz cheese, shredded 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 450*F and grab a non-stick cookie sheet.
• In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the crust; whisk together. Add the water and EVOO. Mix well. Set aside.
• In a saute pan, add some EVOO and heat it up on high. Add the sausage. Cook thoroughly. Remove the sausage from the pan. Turn the heat down to low.
• Add a tad bit more EVOO to the pan (may not be necessary if you're using a sausage with more fat). Add the spinach, salt & pepper. Saute for a couple minutes, or until the spinach is warmed up. Remove from heat.
• Divide your dough for the crust into 4 equal parts. Roll out into like 7-8" circles. Place 1 heaping TBSP of pumpkin and spread it around (leave about 1/4" around the edges). Divide up the spinach, sausage, and cheese between the circles. Fold each circle over. Use a fork and go around the edges to seal them. 
• Place the calzones on your cookie sheet. You can spread a little EVOO on top. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until slightly golden. 

Enjoy!

Ground Turkey Jambalaya

Somehow we always end up with either a surplus or deficit of ground meat in the freezer.  Right now, there's definitely a surplus.  Particularly of ground turkey, although there is also a bit of ground beef.  I was hunting for for recipes to use said ground turkey when I stumbled upon this one, yes, on Pinterest.  I was pretty excited about it because I also had some wonderful red bell peppers that needed to be put to use.  It turned out REALLY tasty.  It was also REALLY easy to make, which is a huge bonus.  Not as exciting in the picture, but the peppers were very pretty in real life.  Trust me!

Ground Turkey Jambalaya

(taken from Playing House)

Ingredients:

1  lb ground turkey breast

1  tbsp EVOO

1  large onion, diced

1  medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1  medium orange bell pepper, seeded and diced

2  cloves garlic, minced

1/2  tsp salt

1/4  tsp ground black pepper

1  tsp paprika

1/2  tsp dried oregano

1/2  tsp dried thyme 

1  bay leaf

1/4  tsp cayenne pepper

2 1/2  c low sodium chicken broth

1  14.5oz can diced tomatoes (no salt added)

1  c long-grain rice, uncooked (I used brown) 

Hot pepper sauce...if you fancy

Directions: 

Brown the turkey in a frying pan, set aside.  Heat the oil in a large dutch oven (or similar) over medium heat.  Add the onion, bell peppers, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent.  Add in everything else (including turkey...but not the rice or hot pepper sauce) and bring to a boil.  Stir in the rice, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the rice is cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed.  Serve it up hot!