Spinach and Ricotta Calzones

These were really easy and good. I got the original recipe from here, but I changed/added a few spices from the original. Also, you could easily omit the meat from the recipe and make it vegetarian. I served mine with marinara on the side and roasted asparagus.
Ingredients
1 cup part-skim ricotta
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1/2 cup cut up cooked ham, sausage, chicken, or ground beef
6 oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves, drained and chopped
1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough or homemade
Cooking spray
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 9 ingredients.

Divide dough evenly into 5 pieces; pat each dough piece into a 5-inch circle. Spoon about 1/2 cup spinach mixture onto half of each circle, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Fold dough over filling until edges almost meet. Bring bottom edge over top edge; crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim. Place calzones on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 14 minutes or until browned.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

I found this recipe off another blog, but I altered it just a little. It was originally called Bourbon chicken, but it doesn't have any Bourbon in it, so I decided to rename it! :)

Ingredients
2 lbs boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed
1/4 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup orange/apple juice
1/4 cup agave nector or brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce


I usually prepare this the night before and let it marinade, but the recipe will work if you don't let it sit overnight. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and then mix all of the ingredients below the olive oil together and pour into a ziploc bag and add the chicken (you can make a double batch so you have one for later and put it in the freezer!) .

The next day remove chicken from marinade, but reserve the marinade. Cook chicken in olive oil until done. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add reserved marinade plus cornstarch to the same pan. Once this mixture comes to a simmer add the chicken back in. Bring to a hard boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over rice. I also served this with steamed broccoli and carrots

Dark Chocolate and Oat Clusters

This is a recipe I found online from Health Magazine. Dark chocolate is rich in heart-healthy antioxidants, oats are filled with fiber, and peanut butter gives you a delicious dose of protein. I told Todd they were "no bake" cookies. He thought they were good, but he is not a big oatmeal kind of guy. He also informed me that his mom makes the BEST "no bake" cookies! I guess I must get that recipe! Regardless, this satisfied my urge to make cookies and eat lots of cookie dough/cookies so I was happy!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
Preparation

Place peanut butter, milk, and semisweet chocolate chips in a saucepan; cook over low heat until chips melt (about 3 minutes). Stir in oats; remove from heat. With a spoon or melon baller, drop 8 ball-shaped portions on a wax paper-lined baking sheet; let set in refrigerator 10 minutes before serving.

4 servings (2 clusters each)
CALORIES 160
FAT 8g (sat 3g, mono 3.5g, poly 1.5g)
PROTEIN 5g
CARBOHYDRATE 19g
FIBER 3g
CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg
IRON 0.0mg
SODIUM 40mg
CALCIUM 0.0mg