Whole Wheat Calzone

Making calzones at home is such a good thing... It gives you the flexibility to put what you want into your food. You pick your cheeses, meats, toppings, etc... Not that you can't do that at your local pizza joint, but you get to pick the brands you want to use as well. To me a calzone is just a folded over pizza. You start by making a normal pizza dough - in this one I wanted to add some whole wheat flour and it made for a nice change. I wouldn't want to make it this way all the time but it was good... Load in your fillings then make sure you get a nice crimping of the dough - you just don't want it to open and it's really the "crust" of the dish. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes or so...

1 Packet active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (no hotter than 110 degrees)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp sugar (or a Tbsp of honey)
1.5 Cups flour
1 Cup whole wheat flour
1/4 Cup pizza sauce
Ricotta cheese - as much as you like and can fit in
Provolone cheese - 2-4 slices
Mozzarella cheese - 2-4 slices
1/4 Lb cooked sausage
1/2 Small onion or scallions sliced thin
Banana peppers to you liking
Black olives to your liking

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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Part 1 of 2



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Part 2 of 2

How To Roast A Chile Pepper

1. Wash your peppers!

2. With a knife or some other sharp object cut a few small slits in your peppers. This is important because your peppers will explode if you don't - I know this from experience!

3. Place your chiles on a foil-lined baking sheet - do not stack. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or till the skin blisters and turns brown. You might want to turn them over to get the back side, but I personally don't think this is all too necessary...

4. After you pull the chiles out of the oven - enclose the peppers in the foil and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes.

5. When the peppers have cooled enough to handle, halve them lengthwise; The skins should pull off with your hands, but you can use a knife.

6. Scrape away and discard the ribs and seeds (if you don't want them). The chemical (Capsicum) that gives peppers their heat is most concentrated in those areas.

NOTE - Always use plastic gloves or slip your hands into plastic bags before playing with chile peppers!

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

Cooking With Trooper...

Ok maybe this should be cooking for trooper?

My buddy Trooper doesn't eat dog food - the kind that comes out of a can or bag that is. He eats things like poached or grilled chicken, ground sirloin, no salt French-cut green beans, smashed sweet potatoes. He gets no salt or low-salt dog treats.

Unfortunately he does get some table food as well. Junk food isn't good for us and it's not good for dogs either!

Eventually there will be a pretty good guide to cooking for your pooch in this section... Check back soon!

Until then:

Trooper eats food that you and I could eat. He is 55 pounds give or take 5 pounds - every meal he gets:

1 1/2 Cup Grilled Chicken (Can be boiled or baked) Or grilled sirloin patties broken up
1/4 Cup Sweet Potatoes (This varies depending on his movements)
1 Can No Salt Green Beans (make sure they are no salt)

You need to give them vitamins as well. You can get dog vitamins at your vet's office, Walmart, etc. Make sure they get some supplement.

There are variations to this. Sometimes to mix it up he gets ground sirloin. When using beef try and remove as much fat as possible.

NOTE - Before putting your pet on a natural diet - consult your vet!

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko