Spinach & Pancetta Calzones

Hubby really likes Italian food. He loves it for two main reasons: Marinara and Pancetta. lol. To have both of these in one dish = one happy Hubby. So I'm always trying to come up with ways to bring these two flavors together...which really isn't that hard if you think about it. You can throw marinara sauce on just about anything. =)

Hubby hates eating his veggies, though. He's gotten better since he's met me (all of 8 years ago), but he still doesn't eat as much as he should. So whenever possible, I try to sneak giant loads of veggies into something that I know he will eat. Tricky, eh?


The perfect solution: Spinach & Pancetta Calzones, dipped in marinara sauce. Hubby chows down on these like there's no tomorrow. He doesn't even mind that it's packed full of spinach! =) So I know for a fact that if you've got some picky eaters, they won't say no to these calzones!

(1) The Dough

Combine sugar and yeast in a large bowl.

Add warm water and stir to mix in the sugar and yeast. You might still have small lumps here and there, but it's ok. It doesn't have to be completely smooth. Set aside for about 5 minutes.


I don't know if you can tell by looking at this picture, but after 5 minutes, the mixture will have expanded and will become more opaque in color.

Add olive oil, salt, and flour.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat for about a minute until the dough has formed little "shreds," and there is no excess flour or liquid present. It's super easy and comes together pretty quickly.


Push all the dough "shreds" together and kneed a few times until it forms into a ball. Brush the dough with a light layer of olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place to rise for about an hour.

After about an hour, it should double in size.


(2) The Spinach & Pancetta Filling

Pancetta is basically Italian bacon. But it has a milder, more delicate taste than traditional American bacon. It's sooo delicious! I get mine pre-sliced at Whole Foods. I then chop it up into small pieces for this dish.


Drizzle olive oil into a pan and add onion, along with garlic salt. Saute on medium-high heat.


Saute until the onion has become clear and is just starting to caramelize, about 5 minutes.


Add the chopped pancetta, along with Italian seasoning, and salt. Continue to saute on medium-high heat.


Saute for about 5-7 more minutes, until the onion has caramelized and the edges of the pancetta is starting to brown.


Pour the pancetta and onion mixture into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool slightly and then add the spinach. Make sure the spinach is completely drained of all liquid. I do this by squeezing handfuls of spinach until all the liquid has run out.

Add the ricotta.

Add one egg.


Mix until well combined. Ready to go!

(3) Assemble the Calzones

Roll out your dough. You can roll it out thinner to get a crispy crust, or thicker to get a more bread-like crust. I like mine thin, while Hubby likes his to have a bit of a soft bite to it. To get a thicker crust, roll it out to be about 1/4 inch thick. Adjust accordingly for a thinner crust.

I like to make small, round individual calzones. So I used the largest cookie cutters I had- ones that were about 4 inches in diameter. You'll need two, one that's slightly larger than the other. The smaller circular disk will act as the bottom, while the larger one will be for the top. The top one needs to be slightly larger to accommodate for the dome that the filling will make.


Brush the baking pan liberally with olive oil. Place the smaller disks about 2 inches apart on the pan. Top with the spinach and pancetta filling, leaving room around the circumference of the dough. Brush the circumference of the dough with egg wash to help seal the calzone. Then cover with the slightly larger dough disks.


Use the back of a fork to press the ends together to seal the edges. Poke the tops of the calzones with a fork. Then be sure to liberally brush the tops of the calzones with olive oil, so that it is entirely covered.

Bake at 425 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy with a side of warm marinara sauce for dipping! Hubby really likes Prego, so that's what I use all the time. I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I feed my family Prego, but hey, it works. hehe. I always have this nagging thought that true domestic goddesses don't use any prepackaged items, so an aspiring one shouldn't either. lol. I've been meaning to try making my own, but haven't gotten around to it. It's not high on my priority list, since Hubby loves Prego so much that he practically inhales it. It's hard to get motivated to change an already good thing. But I'll be sure to let all of you know if I find a good recipe for marinara one of these days. =)

Anyway, give these a try! They're soooo delicious! And you'd be surprised at how easy they are to make!

Click HERE for the recipe

Crab, Spinach & Artichoke Mac & Cheese

I was amazed at all the comments and emails that flooded in because of my last post! I have such awesome readers/subscribers!

Incredibly, a string of more bad things happened after I wrote that post! Can you believe it? When it rains, it pours. It was a rough holiday season for us, so your support really meant a lot. Thanks so much, everyone!

You asked for it, so here it is: my commitment to posting more savory recipes! But you'll have to live with the consequences- the fact that savory dishes are, more often than not, dull/bad/ugly photo subjects. Behold example #1: The Mac & Cheese. Entirely un-photogenic, but incredibly delicious!


This dish is famous from Salty's on Alki, a fantastic restaurant in Seattle. If you're ever visiting the area, you must make it a point to dine there! It's one of the most amazing seafood houses in Seattle.

It was recently brought to my attention by my fellow Foodie friend, Bryn, that they post all of their amazing recipes online! Can you believe it? It's simply incredible, considering all the deliciousness that's offered on their menu! I urge all of you to take a look at their recipe list. There's something fantastic to suit everyone's tastebuds! (Bryn was the genius that introduced me to Tom Douglas' famous Triple Coconut Cream Pie, if you'll remember.)

This isn't your normal run-of-the-mill mac & cheese! It's got an amazing collection of cheeses that make it super creamy, while the crab, artichoke, and spinach give it a fantastic flavor. And to top it all off: a crispy bread crumb and parmesan-herbed crust! This is not the kind of mac & cheese you used to eat as a kid. It's all grown-up and super gourmet. It's definitely a dinner party worthy dish!

(1) The Macaroni

Start by preparing the macaroni: boil and drain.

I like to add a tablespoon of olive oil to the boiling water. This helps to separate the macaroni when you drain it. It makes it so that they don't stick together. Just do it. You'll thank me later for it. =)

Set the macaroni aside for now.

(2) Other Preparations

Create the crunchy topping by mixing bread crumbs, parmesan, garlic powder, and parsley. I don't particularly like parsley, so I replaced it with dried chives, which ended up being quite delicious!


I added this part to the recipe. The original recipe doesn't call for spinach and artichoke. But they're two of my favorite veggies, so I added them in. It definitely gave it a huge flavor boost. YUM!

Drain and chop up a 14 oz can of artichoke hearts. Also thaw and drain a 10 oz package of frozen spinach. Make sure to squeeze all the excess water out. I do this by up rolling up the spinach into small bundles, which it makes ten times easier to get all the water out.

Grate some fresh Gruyere and white cheddar. Yum! I added way more than what the recipe called for. hehe. You can never go wrong with having too much cheese.

You'll also need 3/4 lb crab. You know it's going to be good when there's crab involved.

(3) The Cheese Sauce

Start by heating up heavy cream in a sauce pan.

Add in the cream cheese and stir until the mixture is creamy and smooth. I had a hard time doing this because my cream cheese wasn't quite at room temperature. I would suggest cutting it up into small cubes and making sure that it's super soft before using it. This will make your life so much easier.

At this step, the recipe calls for cream cheese and chevre cheese. Chevre is a type of goat cheese. You can find it at Whole Foods or in the specialty cheese section of your local grocery store. If you don't like goat cheese, substitute it for cream cheese. It produces the same creamy effect. Chevre is really mild...and with all the other cheeses and flavors you're adding to the dish, you won't be able to taste it at all. It's mainly there for texture (the creaminess).

I used only cream cheese and it turned out fantastic. So either way works.

Once your heavy cream & cream cheese mixture is smooth, add in the spinach & artichoke.

Sprinkle 1 tsp of salt and fold until well combined. I found that I wanted the dish to have a tad bit more salt than what was called for. So I modified the recipe to say "plus more to taste." You might want to taste the cream sauce to make sure it's to your liking.

(4) Putting it all Together

Add the drained pasta to the spinach & artichoke cream sauce.

Fold in the pasta until everything is well coated. At this point, if the mixture seems to be too thick, like all of the pasta isn't getting coated easily, pour in a few small splashes of heavy cream to thin it out a bit.

Next, add in the grated Gruyere and white cheddar mixture. Fold the cheese in until everything is melted and has become well incorporated.

Lastly, fold in the crab until well incorporated.

Pour the mac & cheese into a 13x9 pan and level it out with a spatula so that the surface is "flat."


Pour your bread crumb mixture on top, making sure to spread it into an even layer. This is super important, because if some areas are thicker than others, you'll get a "raw" bread crumb patch here and there where it didn't brown.


Put it under the broiler really quickly. Don't make the mistake of walking away like I did! Mine burned a little, as you can see! hehe. It really does brown super quickly, like in 2-5 minutes, depending on how high your pan is sitting. I would recommend putting the rack slightly lower than where you'd usually have it at for broiling, and then leaving it in a bit longer. This will give the cheese a chance to melt a bit, before everything starts to brown. Then you'll get a super nice crust on top!

Serve right away, while it's warm and the crust is still crispy! YUM!

There's really nothing to say about this dish except that it's incredible.

Mac & cheese usually isn't something I'd order at a restaurant... or make at home, for that matter. In fact, prior to trying it at Salty's, I think the last time I had it was in 8th grade, in the school cafeteria! It generally has a bad reputation of being a "kid's dish." But trust me, you won't think so after you've tried this version of it! It's anything but ordinary! It is now one of my favorites.

You must give this recipe a try! I'm sure you'll love it as much as we did.

Click HERE for the recipe!