Chicken Broccoli Calzones

Nick goes through phases on what he likes to eat for lunch. Currently, he is sick of sandwiches and only wants dinner leftovers. Which is hard considering a 4-serving meal barely feeds two of us and leftovers are hard to come by!

One night I was going to make pizza for us, when I realized I could really beef up my pizza doughs and add more toppings if I put the toppings INSIDE the dough. So I made this batch of huge calzones and it lasted all week!

Playing in the new kitchen.

Chicken Broccoli Calzones

makes 4 large calzones

• 1 batch homemade pizza dough (or 2 storebought doughs)
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cooked and diced
• 1 large head broccoli, lightly steamed and roughly chopped
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• BBQ, ranch or marinara, for serving & dipping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Divide the pizza dough in 4 equal pieces.

For each calzone: Stretch pizza dough out flat. Top half of each dough with 1/4 of the chicken and broccoli, and 1/4 – 1/2 cup of each cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it).

Stretch the other half of the dough over the fillings and pinch the edges together to seal. Cut several slits in the top of each calzone and brush top with egg.

Bake on a sturdy nonstick baking sheet or preheated pizza stone for 25-30 minutes, until tops and nicely browned. I sprinkle the pizza paddle or stone generously with flour and cornmeal to prevent the calzones from sticking.

Serve with marinara sauce, BBQ or ranch for dipping! To reheat the calzones, I bake them in the toaster oven for 8-10 minutes.