Italian Beef and Cheese Calzone

A calzone is a pizza turned inside out — or a pizza turnover! This recipe is quick, easy and family-pleasing! Tip: Serve slices drizzled with warm pasta sauce, or on the side for dipping.

This recipe is an excellent source of protein, niacin, vitaminB6, vitaminB12, iron, selenium and zinc.

Recipe Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with onions, drained
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 (13.8-ounce) package refrigerated pizza crust dough

Cooking Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).
2. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add ground beef and bell pepper; cook 8 to 10 minutes, breaking into 3/4-inch crumbles and stirring occasionally. Pour off drippings. Stir in tomatoes and oregano; continue cooking 5 to 7 minutes or until liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat; stir in cheese. Set aside.
3. Sprinkle cornmeal evenly over rimmed baking sheet. Unroll pizza dough lengthwise on baking sheet, straightening edges of dough if necessary. Spoon beef filling over long half of dough, leaving 1-inch border on 3 sides. Gently lift and pull top half of dough over filling to enclose; pinch dough edges to seal.
4. Bake in 400°F (205°C) oven 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Cut crosswise into 8 slices.

Makes 4 servings.

Test Kitchen Tips:

• Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef.
• Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F (71.1°C).
• Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe using 80% lean ground beef): 563 calories; 26 g fat(10 g saturated fat; 7 g monounsaturated fat); 96 mg cholesterol; 764 mg sodium; 50 g carbohydrate; 2.2 g fiber; 37 g protein; 5.2 mg niacin; 0.4 mg vitamin B6; 2.4 mcg vitamin B12; 5.3 mg iron; 18.5 mcg selenium; 5.5 mg zinc.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe using 95% lean ground beef): 496 calories; 17 g fat(7 g saturated fat; 3 g monounsaturated fat); 96 mg cholesterol; 758 mg sodium; 50 g carbohydrate; 2.2 g fiber; 39 g protein; 6.4 mg niacin; 0.4 mg vitamin B6; 2.3 mcg vitamin B12; 5.7 mg iron; 18.0 mcg selenium; 6.0 mg zinc.

Recipe and photograph courtesy of The Beef Checkoff.