Pizza Calzones

I pretty regularly read the blog SimplyScratch, and recently came across a recipe there for Pizza Calzones. It looked like such an easy and tasty recipe that I decided to make it for friends this past weekend. I knew I wasn't going to have time to make the dough on my own, so I picked some up from the deli area of the fancy double-decker Harris Teeter nearby.

I sauteed up some mild sausage (next time I might try the spicy, but with guests I try not to add too much spice, just in case)

and sauteed a red onion

and then set those ingredients aside while I doctored up some tomato sauce. (I just used regular tomato sauce but added in some spices to make it a little bit more special.)

Then comes the fun part -- assembling the calzone. A layer of tomato sauce, sausage, onions, pepperoni, and lots of shredded cheese.

Twist the edges together and brush with an egg before popping them in the oven for about twenty minutes.

Pull them out when they're golden brown and serve!

These were really good and I would definitely make them again.

Next time I'll add more filling, because these felt like they had a lot of crust, but overall they were really tasty and an easy meal!

Alton Brown's Granola

I've been wanting to make some granola for a few weeks now, and finally had a free night to try my hand at some. Alton Brown's Granola Recipe looked delicious and pretty easy to throw together, so it was right up my alley.

I mixed by oats, nuts and shredded coconut into a big bowl:

And then separately mixed together my wet ingredients along with salt and sugar.

It looked sticky and delicious before I had even tossed it in the oven.

From about 30 minutes on, my house started to smell amazing, and I was pretty excited to taste it every time I peeked in the oven to stir it all together.

Once I pulled it out, I mixed in dried cranberries instead of raisins and then left it to cool over night.

Yesterday morning I didn't even mind getting up at 7 to feed the baby, because I knew I had Greek yogurt topped with granola to look forward to.

This was AMAZING. I ate it for breakfast, for snack, and for dessert. And I'll do that again every day until it's gone.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

These days I have very little time for cooking. Most of my time is taken up with stuff like this:

But the other night I was having a serious craving for dessert, so I did some Googling for a quick peanut butter cookie recipe, and found this one.

So easy! I mixed together my peanut butter, sugar, and an egg.

And scooped out the cookies onto a cookie sheet.

I made mine a little big, so they took about twice the amount of time as the recipe called for.

And then I smooshed in some Hershey Kisses, because that pushes peanut butter cookies over the edge into complete deliciousness.

These weren't the best peanut butter cookies I've ever have, but for the short amount of time it took they were perfect. And even tastier on the second and third days!