Goat Cheese, Basil and Italian Sausage Calzones

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There are SO MANY GOOD THINGS happening in this calzone. I can’t even handle it.

First of all, I have been completely obsessed with goat cheese this month. No idea why. Well, actually, yes I do. It’s because goat cheese is awesome. But I have been putting it in EV.ER.Y.THING. this month. Not just my usual lots-of-things. Crazy. But DELICIOUS.

Anyway, these calzones. Super delicious. And here’s the thing about pizza: there’s really no perfect formula to it. So if you’d rather throw these toppings on top of a regular pizza, or into a deep dish, or inside of one gigantic calzone, do it! I won’t mind.

I chose to make four cute little personal calzones, but people, the dough is your canvas! Go crazy. It will be SO much more fun. I promise.

I should also mention that these calzones are really good reheated. So if you bake four but only eat two, or if you have leftovers, just pop them in the fridge and reheat them the next day. Deliciousness round two!

Also, an exciting development: today, Life As A Strawberry hit the 200,000 mark for all-time page views! I can’t believe that this blog has reached so many people in such a short time – thank you all so much for reading! I’m stoked to see what the next year of blogging will bring – there are already some exciting new projects in the works and I can’t wait to share them with you all! But for now, these calzones. Make them. Eat them. Do a happy dance. Repeat.

Goat Cheese, Basil and Italian Sausage Calzones

• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Yield: Makes 4 personal calzones, 1 whole pizza, or 1 giant calzone (any way you slice it, [HAH! a pizza joke] it serves about 4 people) 1x

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Ingredients

• 1 recipe of your favorite pizza dough (I added a pinch of thyme, dried basil, and oregano to my regular recipe this time to add a bit of herb-y flavor)
• 1 pound italian sausage, cooked
• 1/2 cup goat cheese
• 4 cups mozzarella cheese (I used half shredded and half sliced fresh mozzarella, but use whatever you’ve got on hand!)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 batch of your favorite pizza sauce, for dipping

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Instructions

1. Divide your pizza dough into four portions (if you’re making mini calzones!) and press each piece into a flat rectangle-ish shape about 1/8? thick.
2. In the center of each dough rectangle, layer ingredients in this order: handful of mozzarella, handful of italian sausage, sprinkling of basil, another handful of mozzarella, then a handful of crumbled goat cheese. Use as much or as little of each ingredient as you prefer!
3. Pull the sides of each calzone up over the filling and pinch together to seal the calzone. Pinch each end together as well and tuck ends under the calzones. Transfer formed calzones to baking sheet.
4. Drizzle each calzone with 1 Tbsp. of olive oil and bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until calzones have slightly browned.
5. Serve with a side of pizza sauce for dipping and enjoy!

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