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.

Watermelon feta salad

Watermelon is to summer what football is to fall. They just go together.

And I love me some watermelon.

While shopping at Publix this weekend, I picked up a watermelon thinking it would be a yummy addition to the fruit kabobs I was planning to make. Little did I realize how much watermelon one watermelon actually contains. When I was done cutting it up (four days and one messy kitchen later) we had a TON of it.

I like watermelon a lot, but not that much.

So I used some of it tonight to make a delicious summery salad.


I first ate this on Father's Day at my parent's house. I don't know where my mom found this recipe, but I'm glad she did and that she shared it with us!

Watermelon feta salad
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
2 pounds watermelon, cut into bite size pieces
8 ounces grape tomatoes, cut in half
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar*
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups arugula greens (about 5 ounces)*
1 cup sliced red onions

Whisk oil, vinegar and salt to blend; set aside. Place arugula, onions and tomatoes in a salad bowl. Add vinaigrette; toss to coat. Add cheese and melon; serve.

*My mom didn't have white balsamic vinegar, so she used regular balsamic vinegar and it was just as good. We both used romaine lettuce instead of arugula. And I don't have kosher salt so I used regular salt. All these substitutions and it was still a delicious salad!