Weight Watchers Wednesday: Calzones

I had some pizza crust (the Pillsbury kind in the tube) in the fridge, so in my quest to find a healthy Weight-Watchers friendly recipe, I knew I wanted to make something with the pizza dough. I thought a pizza or calzone would be a good choice ... if I could find a healthy recipe.

I found this recipe while looking through my Weight Watchers cookbook, and thought I'd give it a try. It also helped that feta cheese was BOGO this week at Publix, and I was able to find a coupon. Healthy AND cheap - score!

I must admit that this isn't what I would typically think of when I think of a calzone. There's no meat (calling all vegetarians!), and there's no sauce, so it's not really as much like a pizza as I had thought. But it's not bad.

In the interest of being transparent I will say that this isn't our favorite meal, but it's not bad. If I had all the ingredients, I'd make it again, but it's not going to be one of our go-to dishes. But maybe you'll enjoy it!

And I took a photo, but can't find it anywhere, dagnabbit! It was actually really pretty!

Calzones
1 1/4 teaspoon (about 1/2 envelope) active dry yeast*
3/4 cup lukewarm (105-115 degrees) water*
2 cups all-purpose flour*
1 teaspoon salt*
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 shallots, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup thawed frozen chopped spinach, squeezed dry
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a food processor, combine 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons of the flour and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. With the machine running, scrape the yeast mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water through the feed tube just until the dough forms a ball. Knead the dough by pulsing until it is smooth and elastic, about 30 times. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray; place the dough in the bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let the dough rise in a warm draft-free place until it doubles in volume, about 1 hour. (OR -- use a tube of Pillsbury pizza dough and roll it into a large circle on a baking sheet. Much easier!!)

Meanwhile, in a small nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Saute the shallots and garlic until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the spinach; cook about 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl; stir in the ricotta, feta, egg, mint, oregano, the remaining 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and the pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees; spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle a work surface with the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour. Turn out the dough; divide into 6 pieces. Roll out each piece into a 6-inch circle. Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of filling on one side of each circle, then dampen all around the edge; fold over and press with a wet thumb to seal. Transfer the calzones to the baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and crisp, 20-25 minutes.

Chicken and Spinach Manicotti

Last Wednesday, my mom and I enjoyed a wonderful day of mother-daughter shopping at St. John's Town Center in Jacksonville. Being pregnant, I was hungry pretty much the moment we got there. We both love Italian food, so we made a beeline for Maggiano's. Mom had a delicious dish of veal marsala while I had a tasty meal of chicken and spinach manicotti. I enjoyed it so much that the next day I got online to look for the recipe. Although it isn't exactly like Maggiano's (I actually had to cook this myself, but Patrick did serve me AND clean up the mess I made), it's a really good version, and a nice change from my typical plain cheese manicotti. We had it for dinner tonight and really enjoyed it; hope you do, too!

Chicken and Spinach Manicotti
Recipe courtesy www.recipezaar.com
Filling
1 cup chicken breasts, cooked
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
12 manicotti noodles, cooked until al dente

Sauce
16 ounces Alfredo sauce
16 ounces marinara sauce
Approximately 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions
Dice the chicken breast into 1/2-inch pieces and place into a large mixing bowl. Add spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, pepper and salt, and mix thoroughly. Arrange precooked pasta sheets on waxed paper and fill with filling mixture. Combine Alfredo sauce and marinara in bowl and mix until well incorporated. Place a small amount of sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 ovenproof baking dish. Place the cannelloni, side by side, into baking dish. Pour remainder of sauce over cannelloni, covering completely. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over top of sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for approximately 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Click here for the original recipe.