Ricotta & Turkey Sausage Calzones

I saw a recent episode of The Pioneer Woman where she made calzones using pre-made bread rolls.  I decided to try it using Pillsbury wheat pizza dough.  I also wanted to make my version a little lighter using the turkey sausage, spicy – of course and part skim ricotta.  The marinara sauce I made was totally made up.  I simply used tomato sauce, diced tomatoes in Italian seasoning and spiced with oregano, salt & pepper.

There was a small learning curve figuring out how best to fold the dough after I had cut it into small squares.  Early on, I was filling with a little too much of the filling.  As I went on, I was a little more balanced.  I also used the fork to pinch both sides of the fold to ensure that the filling would not seep out.

Recipe
Ricotta & Turkey Sausage Calzones:

Ingredients
2 packages of Pillsbury Pizza Dough
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
3 Spicy Italian Turkey Sausage
15 ounces, fluid part skim Milk Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Grated Mozzarella Cheese
2 whole Eggs
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Black Pepper To Taste
2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Parsley
Marinara Sauce, For Serving
1 whole Egg Beaten

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and allow to cook for a couple of minutes. Add sausage and cook until brown, crumbling the sausage as you stir.  Remove from pan and allow to cool on a plate.
In a separate bowl, combine ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, eggs, salt, pepper, and parsley. When sausage is cool, stir it in. Set aside.
Roll out the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface until pretty thin. Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of the filling diagonally across the dough. Fold half of the dough over itself, then press edges with a fork to seal.

Brush surface of calzone with beaten egg – both sides, then bake on a baking sheet for 8 – 10 minutes, or until nice and golden brown. Serve with warm marinara sauce.