Tex Mex Calzone

Today was the Boise State vs. Fresno State game. We had a great time, I got sun burnt (but only on the left side of my body), and we won. After the game, we had dinner with the family and I popped over to Patti's to pick up the first batch of pumpkins for this year's Halloween festivities. I'm super excited and I think this year may even be better than last year's pumpkin massacre.

With all of that good fun in my day, I just rolled in the door. I had grand plans for an easy project for tonight, but to be perfectly honest...I'm pooped. But never fear...I have something to share with you.

I've been trying out all sorts of new recipes over the last few months. I managed to force myself into them by building as many as I could into our meal plan. (By the way...we've done fairly well with making the food last. I did lose a few fresh items early on, but we're still rocking it. In fact, what was originally a 4 month meal plan...is going to last even longer! We'll probably be able to go nearly six months before we run out of the planned recipes. We're still going to the store for the perishables, but our food budget is very close to nil. It's nice.)

As with everything new to try, some are hits and some are misses. The Tex Mex Calzone was a freaking huge hit. It was delicious. I was a little intimidated to try it...a calzone just seemed like something that would be rough. I was wrong. It went fairly smoothly and I ended up with a dinner that we will absolutely be having again. Oh...and I have no idea where I found the recipe. It was just one I had scribbled down. So I assume it must have come from a magazine. That's my best guess... Regardless of where it came from, this one is totally worth trying!

Here's What You'll Need:

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 c. green bell pepper, chopped
3/4 c. salsa verde
1 can Pillsbury Grands biscuits
1 c. cheese, shredded
1 egg white, beaten


Here's What You Do:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Adjust your oven rack to the upper third of the oven. This will help the crust of the calzone cook crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add your ground beef and cook for about 5 minutes, until most of the pink is gone. Add in your onion and garlic and continue to cook for an additional 4-5 minutes until the onions are translucent.

Add in your spices and peppers. Cook for 2 minutes.

Remove mixture from heat and stir in the salsa.

Roll out each biscuit to a triangle approximately 6" at the base. Divide biscuits into pairs. On biscuit one, place 1/2 cup of the meat mixture and top with 2 tbsp. of cheese. Brush egg whites on the borders of the dough. Place biscuit number two over the top and press the edges with a fork or spoon to seal. Make sure you get all the way around nice and snug so your insides don't leak out during cooking.

Place the calzones on a greased cookie sheet. Brush egg whites on the top of each calzone for a crispier crust.

Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

And that's it! You can serve them whole or in halves. They turned out fairly large, so one half would probably be a decent portion for most...though it didn't stop me from eating the whole thing. I'm telling you...YUM!

Oh...and it doesn't hurt that it takes fairly decent pictures. The camera loves Tex Mex Calzone almost as much as I do.

This post is part of a series. For the other posts, click here.