Mini Whole Wheat BBQ Chicken Calzones.
It was Mother Lovett’s and I’ve totally destroyed it. She kept it spotless for 30 some years, then I inherited it in 2009 and it’s gone straight down the tubes. Like, immediately down. Sure, you may say it’s “seasoned”… but I can assure you it’s simply a product of my laziness to do any type of dishes within six hours of cooking. And that’s on a good day.
But that tiny sheet is often my inspiration for scaling down normal-sized meals: whether it’s something that only I will be eating or something that I want to shrink in size so we can feel better about devouring multiple servings… it gets used every single day of my life. Perfect for two people and perfect for things like…
..cute little calzones stuffed with:
chicken dripping in barbecue sauce
super caramelized onions
and piles of cheddar and provolone.
That totally makes up for Monday. Tell me. Right? Totally.
These came in the form of dinner one night, after I had the freezer door slammed in my face then was given a very specific lesson on how to fill the ice cube trays. Seriously. Because apparently, the 14% of the time I was actually doing it, I was doing it… “wrong.”
Needless to say it was an interesting weekend.
Mini Whole Wheat BBQ Chicken Calzones
makes 6-8 calzones
pizza dough [slightly adapted from my garlic bread pizza crust]
1 1/8 cups warm water (100-105 degrees)
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups 100% whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in the whole wheat flour and salt, mixing until the dough begins to come together. Since it will probably still be sticky, add in another 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, kneading the dough with your hands and then turning it onto a work surface to knead for a few minutes. If dough is still sticky, add the remaining flour until it is soft, smooth and stretchy. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1 1/2 hours.
Once risen, punch down the dough and knead a few times, adding a few spoonfuls of flour if sticky. Separate the dough into 6 or 8 pieces (it’s your call), then roll into a ball and place covered on a baking sheet to rise for another 10 minutes.
calzones
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 cup of your favorite bbq sauce + more for dipping
4 ounces freshly grated cheddar cheese
4 ounces freshly grated provolone cheese
fresh cilantro, if desired
While dough is rising, heat a skillet over medium-low heat and add olive oil. Toss in onions with a sprinkle of salt, then cover and let caramelize for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine chicken with garlic powder and smoked paprika.
Roll each ball of dough into a small oval, then fill with a few spoonfuls of bbq sauce, shredded chicken, a handful of caramelized onions and a sprinkle of both cheeses. Toss in cilantro if desired. Drizzle a bit of additional sauce on top, then fold the top over to meet the bottom, tightly sealing the edges. Poke a few holes in the top with a knife or fork. Place calzones on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Still refusing to fill the trays though.
113 Comments on “Mini Whole Wheat BBQ Chicken Calzones.”
I think that people who are able to keep pans clean are ridiculous. How do they do that? Does their arm want to fall off after all that scrubbing? I don’t think it’s possible.
When mine get really grotty (as in, can’t scrub anymore stuff off it) I spray them with oven spray, leave for a bit then wash them. Voila! Perfectly clean and shiny once again!
When you say oven spray do you mean something like Pam?
Oven cleaner? I’m so on top of that… my pans look the same. It’s kind of embarrassing when people come over and I pull something out of the oven on my “well seasoned” pans!
Aah…no. Pam is the non-stick stuff you use in baking, right? I’m referring to the “wear a face mask” kind of oven cleaner spray lol. Probably not very green of me but it sure beats scrubbing!
Hubba hubba, I see a calzone I want to make.
I remember one time my mother in law asked me if I had a turkey roasting pan she could borrow. I’ll never forget the way she looked at it when I handed it to her. Her stuff is always spotless. Mine, not so much. I don’t see how its possible either!
Chicken with BBQ sauce? Check. Dipping it in more sauce? Check. That’s what I’m talking about.
Ok, pretty much need these asap. love them!
I’ve just pencilled this into my week’s meal plan. Sounds ah-maz-ing!
mmmm i love bone suckin’ sauce. and bbq chicken ANYTHING. ps: none of my pans are clean. i seem to ruin them even after baking 1 batch of cookies. hmm…
what is it about calzones that is just so divine looking?! i order one every time i see it on a menu! these look fantastic.
Holy moly these look like the greatest dinner ever. I’m such a sucker for bbq! :D
Chicken, cheese and BBQ sauce? Amazing!
I seriously need you to be my best friend and live right next door to me for the rest of my life. I don’t even care if I gain 50 lbs … it will be worth it!! ;)
I think we can work that out!
Calzones are always a winner here too! I need to do this the next time with have left over BBQ. I normally do pizzas, but I love the BBQ dipping sauce idea. This looks amazing!
We love calzones, and bbq chicken ones are probably are favorite. I have never made mini ones, though. What a great idea!!
This is probably the most delicious way to eat chicken!
Wow. Just…wow.
ahh i’ve been dying for you to make calzones thank you!! i am making these ASAP!!
This looks gorgeous! I really have make calzones!! My family would go bonkers if I did! I’d be a queen my house, well at least during dinner time! :) I’m bookmarking this recipe!!!
Calzones are my kryptonite! They’re like pizza but better because more crust = BETTER. I can’t wait to make these for my boys.
These have my name all over them!!
Yuuuuuuum!!! I’ve never actually had a calzone, but I’m pretty sure that I’d love them! haha
Annnnd now I need BBQ chicken in my life. Also, my baking sheet totally looks like that, it didn’t even stand a chance.
My pans always look like that! Its a sign that theyre truly loved and used :) delicious meal
These look fab! My stomach is already grumbling for lunch after looking at these!
That Bone Suckin’ Sauce is THE BEST barbecue sauce I think I’ve ever had. Hands down.
I know… so good.
I have problems filling ice cube trays too. As in, I “forget” to refill them. These look really good. I’ve been craving bbq sauce lately and they seem like a good way to fix that.
Mmmmm yummy! This is going into my recipe list asap. I can also picture customizing the flavours but boy does that ever look good just as is.
Reading the title ACTUALLY made my mouth water.
My pans look like they got hit by a dumpster truck…seriously, the dirtier the better.
LOOKS delicious!
Ok, you seriously need to invest in a refrigerator that makes ice cubes on its own. It might save your marriage!
Love the pan, it’s a keeper. Who cares that it doesn’t look like it did when Mother Lovett used it. She’s smiling down on you because you’ve put it to good use and it’s got the marks to prove it.
This is THE perfect thing for dinner tonight because I made your Crockpot BBQ Beer Chicken (but substituted Root Beer – didn’t have any actual beer) and the family LOVED it the other night. Now there are leftovers, so instead of putting the rest in the fridge, DINNER!!
Once again, thank you, Jessica!!
Happy Monday!
This may be a stupid question but where do you get that bone suckin sauce? I look for it all the time (since everyone on the internet apparently swears by it) and never find it in the grocery stores around me.
Shockingly my local grocery store (giant eagle) carries it. I think my Whole Foods has it too, but I’ve never bought it there. I haven’t looked elsewhere!
Not gonna lie that picture of the sauce just-about-to-coast the calzone leaves me with this overwhelming feeling of anticipation and dream of tastiness to come. Gawd, these look ridic. In all the best ways…
That’s my kind of calzone, with cilantro please! YUM!!
I love the bone-suckin brand. Their mustard is out of this world good.
This recipe sounds like the perfect summer time food for my meat-eating family, thanks!
We adore the mustard too. So good.
We do BBQ Chicken Pizza all the time but never have I thought of calzones! Love that I can dip it in extra sauce! YUM.
Yum! I love calzones! They look awesome.
That looks so good! Definitely going to attempt this in my new apartment this week! Love BBQ chicken anything!
Scaling down recipes is a must! When cooking for 2 people or 2 people and a small child, one does not need 4 dozen anything, ya know!
And I am so with you on the pans, too! And I DO try to keep them pristine and sometimes I swear, the black spots just…appear and won’t come off :)
I was sick and so off work all last week. This meant that by Thursday I was feeling pretty good and therefore cooking. I split a rack of ribs into two pans and didn’t line ’em with foil first, cause I forgot. (steroids+antibiotics=30% brain function) Ribs were awesome, pans looked like yours.
TOOK ME FOUR DAYS of soaking and scrubbing, soaking and scrubbing. And that was with my metal “Danny Duzit” scrubbie-which-I-hate. I wish I could say I’ll throw ’em away next time, but I don’t have the nerve. And nice pans are so inexpensive! Doesn’t matter. Can’t bring myself to do it unless it’s got a hole or something. I just call ’em “seasoned” and shove ’em in a drawer.
i kind of love it when pans look like that…well-loved. is that weird? besides, it kind of frees up my time in the kitchen if i can keep them looking “rustic” rather than scrubbing :)
And this is why I love you! So making this ASAP!!
Need. Stat. Yum!!!!
Sounds so delicious and love the idea of using wheat dough. I’m going to have to try that BBQ sauce you use too.
This is exactly what I need on this dreary Monday. Looks amazing!!
I like to think of my pans as having “character.”
And omg these look tasty.
Who doesn’t have a tray like that??!! And these sound so yummy :)
This absolutely will be dinner tonight, especially because I already have all of the ingredients in my fridge/pantry. Thank you for sharing–my mouth is already watering! :)
I should truthfully stop following this blog. I’m doing Weight Watchers right now (sort of a pre-emptive, get back to my weight when I graduated from high school before I get to a weight where I’m gonna need an Oprah special to help me lose it), and I’m pretty sure that crust is going to be like 500,000 WW points per serving. And I want to make this right now. And have it for lunch and dinner. Then take a peak over at the original crust recipe and make pizzas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner tomorrow. Good grief…why do I do this to myself, dutifully, every morning? Oh, right…because I love food and I think Jess is funny.
Buffalo chicken or BBQ chicken? Though I’m sure the recipe is the same :)
These look So. Good. I can imagine using leftover bbq pulled chicken to make these!
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