When I worked in radio, there was a pizzeria across the street. They made the most FABULOUS pepperoni rolls. I used to call them to order one, and have them call me when it was done. Then, I’d put on a long song to play on the air, and run over the the pizzeria to get my roll. It was pretty risky, and one time, the song had JUST ended before I could plug another one in. Whew!

I’ll have to post my own pepperoni roll recipe up sometime. I want to take photos when I do, so stay tuned (in radio lingo).

With all that said, I found a really quick and easy recipe for Calzones that I thought I’d share. The recipe is not mine, it’s from Disney Family Food site. They have some nice, kid-friendly meals there. Here are the calzones:

Calzones

Ingredients

2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed
1/2 pound sliced ham
1/2 pound sliced hard salami
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup jarred marinara sauce

Directions

1. Roll each loaf of dough into a rectangle about 8 inches by 12 inches.
2. Layer ham and salami down the center of each rolled loaf lengthwise.
3. Top meats with 1 cup shredded mozzarella for each roll.
4. Fold short ends of each loaf in about 1/2 inch and seal. Roll from the long sides and pinch well to seal the entire loaf. You should have 2 long rolls.
5. Bake, seam side down on a greased baking sheet in a 375 degree F oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Cut each roll into 8 slices and serve with marinara for dipping.

So there you have it. I would probably just make my own dough in my bread machine. My bread dough is healthier, anyway, and I’m convinced the olive oil I use instead of veggie oil is soo good for you. I love olive oil! You can use it for a billion things: lamps, skin oil, acne scar removal?, eating, digestive problems, etc. I love the stuff.

Anyway, that’s what I’d do. I’d also probably skip the ham (I don’t like ham) and use pepperoni. But then it would probably make the calzone into a pepperoni roll, don’t ya think?

Well, stay tuned, I’ll be making pepperoni rolls next week.

photo credit: seriouslygood1
Well, anyway, after years of experimenting, the best thing I found to make nice, moist banana bread is to double the amount of bananas the recipe calls for. Here’s my tried-and-true recipe.

Basic Banana Bread
makes one loaf

1/3 cup applesauce*
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs

1 3/4 cup white flour**
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups mashed over-ripe banana
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
optional: 1/2 cup broken nuts or 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have a loaf pan prepared by thoroughly greasing the inside with margarine or butter.

In a large bowl, mix together your applesauce. sugar, and eggs.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add to your applesauce mixture in portions. In between your dry mix portions, add some of the mashed banana. Beat well after each addition. When everything is combined, add your vanilla extract and optional ingredients and mix quickly.

Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until done. (You can insert a toothpick in the loaf to test for doneness– if the toothpick comes out clean, the loaf is done).

Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so, then remove from loaf pan and allow to cool thoroughly.

Notes: *You can use shortening or butter or margarine in substitute of the applesauce, but I found applesauce a lot healthier and it makes the bread less greasy. And applesauce adds enough moisture to be a suitable substitute for the shortening.

**Be aware that if you use any wheat flour, it will make your loaf heavier and drier. You will need to adjust your liquids, too.

Enjoy!