Calzones

We had Calzones for my son's birthday!! He requested them. I really have never made them before so this was a trial and error. They turned out pretty good. We all really liked them. You can't roll the dough out too thin but it can't be too thick either. Some of ours were too thick and a couple were too thin so next time we make them will know how to get it right. These are really easy so don't get scared if you haven't worked with yeast. I have found that buying instant yeast is the best way to go. You don't have to activate it!! You just mix it in with the flour before you mix the flour with the wet ingredients in a bread/roll/pizza crust recipe.

Calzones

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 T. oil

4-1/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

3 T. sugar

1 T. instant yeast

Mix the yeast with 1 cup of the flour and set aside.Combine the water, salt, oil, and sugar and Mix well. Add 2 cups of the remaining 3-1/4 cups flour. Mix until well combined. Add the flour yeast mixture and mix some more until smooth. Add the rest of the flour. Knead on a floured surface until the dough is smooth about 5 minutes. Set in a bowl and let rest 10-15 minutes. Then roll our to 1/4-1/2 inches thick. Fill one side with your favorite pizza toppings. Then fold over and seal edges with a fork. Poke a couple of hole in the top so they won't explode in the oven. Brush tops with a beaten egg~to help the top brown and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. You can use regular yeast just place it with the warm water in a bowl until bubbly then add the rest of the ingredients.

Serve with pizza sauce or alfredo sauce to dip it in or Ranch dressing!! My kids love to dip their pizza in ranch!!

Cream Cheese Pecan Pie

This pie is so wonderful especially if you love pecan pie and cheesecake. It is a mixture of them both. I made this for Thanksgiving along with pumpkin pie. This one was by far the hit at the festivities. I will be making this every Thanksgiving for now on. Don't mind the picture to much. I am still figuring out my oven. It cooks things faster on top then it does on the bottom which is so weird to me. Even if I have it on the bottom rack. So the top is more browned than I would have liked but it still tasted so good. I just forgot to take a picture of the inside before it was all gone.

Cream Cheese Pecan Pie
1-9 inch uncooked pie crust
1-8 oz pkg. cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
3 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup dark Karo Syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1/4 cup chopped pecans

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the crust in a 9 inch pie pan. Beat the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, salt, vanilla, and 1 egg until smooth. Pour into the crust:



Sprinkle with the chopped pecans:


Beat the 3 eggs, 1/4 cup brown sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla until well blended. Gently pour over the pecans and cream cheese layer in the pie:

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the middle is set. You may have to cover the crust with tin foil 20 minutes into the baking process so the crust doesn't burn. Cool for about 2 hours and store in the refrigerator.