CHICKEN AND SPINACH
CALZONES
Delicious calzones with spinach, chicken and homemade Marinara Sauce (See recipe below). The miracle dough can make all kinds of chicken, beef and vegetable pies. It is my go-to pastry most of the time, as it is suitably low-carb and very easy to work with.
Marinara
Sauce (see below)
Filling:
21/2 cups cooked, diced chicken (625 mL)
8 oz frozen spinach, squeezed dry (250 g)
3/4 cup Marinara Sauce below, OR commercial product (175 mL)
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
8 oz grated Mozzarella cheese, OR (250 g)
more, to taste, OR sliced
Mozzarella
Miracle Dough: (make a
double batch) - Grain-Free version in Helpful Hints
2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese (500 mL)
2 tbsp melted butter (30 mL)
1 cup Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2, (250 mL)
(no
gelatin needed)
1 egg, fork beaten
1/4 tsp
onion salt (1 mL)
1/4 tsp
garlic powder (1 mL)
1 egg yolk
Filling: In large bowl,
combine chicken, spinach (squeezed dry with hands), Marinara Sauce, salt and
pepper, to taste and grated Mozzarella cheese, OR keep the cheese separate and
add on top of the mixture in the calzone dough.
Miracle
Dough: In microwave oven in
microwaveable bowl, melt Mozzarella cheese.
This took 2 minutes in my 1200 Watt microwave oven. Remove with oven
gloves (be very careful!). Pour melted
butter over top of cheese. Place Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2 on top. In
small bowl, beat egg with fork. Add
onion salt and garlic powder; whisk with fork.
Add to Mozzarella cheese mixture. Stir with a fork to form a dough
ball. Knead slightly to form a ball.
Measure
six little balls (with each batch of Miracle Dough) weighing about 2.1 oz (60
g) each. Place dough on parchment paper,
cover with plastic wrap and roll out.
Roll each dough ball out into a 6-inch (15 cm) circle. I have a special
gadget that makes lovely calzone shapes very easily, but it is not
necessary. In the center of the circle
place the filling. Add extra Mozzarella
cheese, if desired. Fold the calzone
over and crimp the edges with the tines of a fork. Cut three slits spaced evenly apart in the
top of the calzones, if desired. Brush calzones with egg yolk.
Place
the calzones on a greased cookie sheet and on the middle shelf in the
oven. Bake 12 to 18 minutes, or until the
crust underneath is a lovely golden color. You don’t want them to burn, so
check them very closely after 10 minutes have elapsed. I usually check them every minute or so after
the 10 minute mark. You can take them
out briefly to check. Don’t burn yourself.
Helpful
Hints: To reheat, these calzones
heat up beautifully (still remaining crispy the first day) in the microwave
oven … about 35 to 40 seconds in my microwave oven. You can also reheat them in
a moderate oven, I’m sure, and they would be crispy the next day as well. If
the dough becomes difficult to roll out, place the small balls in the microwave
oven 8 to 10 seconds before rolling out.
This works beautifully.
For a Grain-Free
version, use a bake mix made up of 2 cups (500 mL) almond flour and 2/3 cup
(150 mL) coconut flour. Use 3/4 cup
(175 mL) of the mixture. Or, simply use 2/3 cup (150 mL) almond flour and
2 tbsp (30 mL) coconut flour for each batch of Miracle Dough (I have not tested
this smaller version, but the Grain-Free Bake mix - yes!). I still prefer the
Miracle Dough goodies made with the Gluten-Free Bake Mix, however, this is an
very lovely option and the net carbs get reduced by 1.0 gram per serving
usually.
Yield: 12 calzones
1 calzone
349.5
calories
23.4
g protein
24.8
g fat
0.5 g fiber
7.0
g net carbs
MARINARA
SAUCE
Sometimes homemade tastes best. This sauce is very easy to prepare. I made it specifically for my Italian Chicken Marinara Casserole. Pureeing the sauce deepens the flavor.
2
tbsp olive oil (30 mL)
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (60 mL)
28
oz diced, canned tomatoes (840 g)
1/2 cup water (125 mL)
Liquid
sweetener to equal 2 tsp sugar (10 mL)
1/2 tsp salt (2 mL)
1/2 tsp dried basil (2 mL)
1/2 tsp dried oregano (2 mL)
1/2 tsp dried thyme (2 mL)
1/8 tsp black pepper (0.5 mL)
In frying pan in olive oil, cook onion over medium
high heat until turning brown. Add
tomatoes, water, liquid sweetener, salt, basil, oregano, thyme and pepper.
Simmer gently about 5 to 10 minutes, or until thickened. In food processor, pour mixture and pulse
until the sauce is a bit finer in texture, but not juiced.
Yield:
21/2 cups (625 mL)
1
tbsp (15 mL) per serving
12.3
calories
0.2
g protein
0.7
g fat
1.4
g net carbs
I tried this one a couple of times and besides being convenient, it worked particularly well. The whole milk cheese also works well, I find. If using the commercially shredded cheese, one usually gets a greater yield than grating one's own cheese. That is because they add something to the cheese to keep the strands separated.
MIRACLE DOUGH TIPS: - Please note:- USE BOB'S RED MILL COCONUT FLOUR FOR ALL MY RECIPES AND ESPECIALLY FOR THIS MIRACLE DOUGH - COCONUT FLOURS DIFFER GREATLY IN THEIR ABILITY TO ABSORB MOISTURE! There are several variations of this kind of dough on the internet, but mine is different to all the others out there. I am getting very adept with this dough. Use a fork to make it come together. At first it looks impossible (might even have strings of cheese in it), but keep mixing and then turn out on a cutting board. Knead for a couple of minutes, adding a bit of coconut flour as needed to make a lovely elastic dough. The more coconut flour one can add (usually about 1 tbsp or a bit more), the more bread-like the dough becomes (more substantial). Since coconut flour is mostly fiber, you're not really adding much in the way of carbs, spread over several servings. I put the dough ball on parchment paper and cover the dough with plastic wrap and using a rolling pin (sometimes I use my special small one for pie dough), roll it out with ease. If at any time the dough becomes resistant to rolling, nuke it approximately 10 to 20 seconds and away you go again!
Here is a pic of the dough ball - lovely, soft and malleable!!
Mozzarella cheeses that I have successfully used with the Miracle Dough and The Sweet Miracle Pastry Dough as well. I get mine from Price Smart in Central (technically South America) America, which is the same as Costco in the United States.
I tried this one a couple of times and besides being convenient, it worked particularly well. The whole milk cheese also works well, I find. If using the commercially shredded cheese, one usually gets a greater yield than grating one's own cheese. That is because they add something to the cheese to keep the strands separated.