QUICK SAUSAGE AND BELL PEPPER CALZONES

Quick Sausage and Bell Pepper Calzones image

Go deep this Super Bowl Sunday: Serve calzones. These Italian turnovers are perfect 'finger food' -- no knife and fork required. And because the recipes use refrigerated rolls, it's an easy score. All you have to do is make the fillings.

Provided by USA WEEKEND columnist Pam Anderson

Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Italian

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 13

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Ingredients

1 (11.3 ounce) can refrigerated dinner rolls, at room temperature
Cornmeal for rolling
1 pound spicy Italian sausage, removed from its casing
Olive oil, for sauteing, if necessary
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ large yellow bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into small dice
½ large red bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into small dice
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Olive oil, for brushing
Your favorite marinara-style pasta sauce

Steps:

Separate rolls onto a cornmeal-sprinkled work surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest while preparing filling.
Fry sausage in a 12-inch skillet, breaking it up into small bits with a spoon, until it loses its raw color, about 5 minutes. Depending on the amount of fat in the pan, drain or add oil to equal about 2 Tbs. Add onion and peppers; saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic. Transfer to a bowl. Cool to room temperature; stir in cheeses and optional parsley.
Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 450 degrees.
Sprinkling with cornmeal as necessary, roll out each roll into a 7-inch circle. Spoon a scant 1/2 cup of filling just below the center line, leaving a 1-inch border along the bottom half of the dough circle. Spoon filling just below the center line of the circle of dough, leaving a border along the bottom half of the circle. With wet fingertips, moisten the bottom border. Fold dough over filling and press edges together. Thoroughly seal by using fingertips to crimp and flute the edges or by pressing with the tines of a fork. Place on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (At this point, can be frozen up to 2 weeks.)
Brush tops with oil. Bake until golden brown, about 16 minutes (longer if frozen). Let cool slightly and serve with warm marinara sauce.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 400.2 calories, Carbohydrate 28.3 g, Cholesterol 55 mg, Fat 24 g, Fiber 2.6 g, Protein 18.1 g, SaturatedFat 8.9 g, Sodium 896.1 mg, Sugar 5.4 g