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!

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips

And on my days off, I get on Pinterest and bake... It's kind of great how many things you can get done when Monday is your day off. Everyone else is working, so the day is yours. I slept in. Watched "Once Upon a Time" while I had my coffee and breakfast. I vacuumed and mopped. Did P90X-2. Showered. Made lunch. Ran errands (got my watch fixed, got part of my Halloween costume, went to Sprouts). Baked. Got some paperwork done. Pinned a million things. And I'm going to make kickboxing. Exciting stuff. 

So...Peanut butter. Pumpkin. Dark Chocolate. Score. The original recipe is from Crazy For Crust via Pinterest. I really hadn't intended to change anything...but it turned out that I only had 1 cup of AP flour on hand. Thus, I ended up doing 1 cup AP flour and 1 cup WW flour. Not bad. Generally, you can go half-and-half and not change things too much. Using all WW flour will change the texture. Of course, you can use whatever kind of chocolate chips you like...but I'm a dark chocolate kind of girl.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

3/4 cup pumpkin puree 

2 eggs

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 TBSP pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup AP flour

1 cup WW flour

1 cup chocolate chips, divided

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350*F and prepare a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• In a large bowl (or your KitchenAid), mix together the yogurt, pumpkin, eggs, and peanut butter until smooth. Add sugars, pumpkin pie spice, and soda and mix. Mix in the flours. Stir in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips. 
• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. It's thick so you'll need to even it out. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.
• Bake for about 30-35 minutes, depending on if you want it a little gooey in the center or baked through. 
• Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to your cutting board.

Enjoy!