Meatball Calzone

"Add meatballs to anything, and I'll eat it. Who doesn't like meatballs?" Those would be words of wisdom from my husband. He's right though! Meatballs put a smile on even the pickiest eater's face- unless, of course, you're vegetarian.

I threw this recipe together from my own little mind, although I used a meatball and marinara recipe from "It's All American Food." I also took this to a lady that recently moved in near me, and she seemed to really like it. It's a good recipe to take to a neighbor. It's so easy! Shoot- it's just a great recipe to have.
Meatball Calzone:
source for the marinara and meatball recipe- "It's All American Food" by David Rosengarten

Marinara:
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c minced garlic (yes, those are accurate measurements)
14 oz diced tomatoes (pureed in food processor)
6 oz tomato paste
1 c water
1 T dried parsley
1/2 t brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t red pepper flakes, optional

Meatballs:
1 egg
1/3 c milk
1 lb ground beef
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
1 t garlic, minced
1 T parsley
1/4 c olive oil

Calzone:
1 loaf Rhodes dough, thawed
mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
pepperoni
1 egg white
water
sesame seeds

For the marinara:
Saute the garlic in olive oil over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until everything else is ready. I left mine to simmer for two hours.

For the meatballs:

Preheat the oven to 400.

In a large bowl, add the egg and milk. Stir it up.
Break some white bread into small pieces to measure 1 1/2 c. It is really easy to skip this part and use store bought bread crumbs. However, I think that using the soaked bread crumbs makes the meatballs so moist. I love it.
Add the bread crumbs into the egg/milk mixture.
Let it rest for ten minutes. Now, I'm the queen of soggy-bread-makes-me-gag, but I can muster up the strength to make this. As long as I don't have to touch it, I'm good.
After the ten minutes, use a fork to mash it up to form a paste.
Add the ground beef and remaining ingredients for the meatballs. Mix it well. Form into meatballs. I do a shape somewhere between ping pong balls and golf balls. Place them on a greased cookie sheet and bake them for 25 minutes. Take the out and place them aside to cool. Lower the oven temperature to 350.
While they are baking, take the thawed Rhodes dough and roll it into an oval/rectangle shape. I think mine was about 14 inches by 9 inches- or something like that.
Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese in the middle third of the dough.
Add some pepperoni. If you don't like pepperoni, you can leave these out. I might be concerned, though. Who doesn't like pepperoni? If you'd like, you can also add black olives, red onions, or any other toppings you'd like to go along with this.
Top with the meatballs.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Fold on side over the middle. Repeat with the other side. Pinch the ends together and tuck under just to make sure there won't be any cheesiness oozing out the ends while it is baking. Place it on a greased baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.
Brush it with a mixture of 1 egg white and 1 T water.
Sprinkle it with sesame seeds.
Bake it for 25 minutes or until it's golden brown on top.
Take it off of the cookie sheet and cut into slices. Serve with warm marinara sauce on the side.
nom-nom-nom.