Sausage Calzones

Recipe yields 4 calzones. The hubby and I usually split one and then freeze the rest to reheat later.

1 1/3 lb. italian sausage
2 cups ricotta cheese
handful parsley
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
handful parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. chopped pimento
2 tubes of prepared refrigerated pizza dough (I usually use two bags of Trader Joes whole wheat dough...you could also make your own)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
tomato, marinara or pizza sauce for dipping

Before day of cooking....
1. Brown sausage. Package and take to cooking day.

Day of cooking....
1. Combine sausage with ricotta, parsley, garlic, parmesan cheese, pepper, nutmeg, and pimento. 2. Roll pizza dough out on nonstick cookie sheets in 4 equal pieces. Spread 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 of the sausage mixture on each rectangle. (Work only on one half of rectangle of dough!). Fold other half of dough over filling, pink edges firmly to seal. If your dough tears, remove a bit of filling and repair.
3. Wrap calzone in foil (spray foil with cooking oil before wrapping!) and place in a freezer bag.

Baking day....
1. Thaw and unwrap.
2. Bake 12-15 minutes at 425 or until golden brown. (My hint: spread foil on your cookie sheet before baking...makes for easy clean-up for the cheesy mess that oozes out during baking!)
3. Serve with tomato sauce for dipping. YUM!

Baked Ziti

This recipe makes 4-8x8 pans or 2 9x13 pans of baked ziti. Tweak amounts if necessary! :)

4 cups cottage cheese
8 eggs
8 cups mozarella cheese
1 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
64 oz. spaghetti sauce of your choosing
2 lbs. meat--ground beef, italian sausage or a mixture of these--this is optional!
32 oz. pasta--rotini or penne shape work well

Before day of cooking....
1. Cook pasta according to instructions. Be sure to cook just until "al dente" and not overcook since you are freezing this. Drain and package in ziplocs or whatever container you would like to take to your cooking day.

2. Brown any ground beef or sausage and package to take along for cooking.

Day of cooking...
1. Mix cottage cheese, eggs, and mozarella cheese in a large mixing bowl. Stir pasta into this mixture.
2. In separate large bowl mix spaghetti sauce with meat.
3. Place a layer of sauce on the bottom of each pan (4-8x8s or 2-9x13s--aluminum foil or something like Glad Ovenware (this is my preference...they go straight from freezer to oven and clean SO easily!).
4. Cover sauce layer with 1/4 (or 1/2 if using 9x13) of cheese and pasta mixture.
5. Cover with remaining sauce.
6. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
7. Cover with lid. If using aluminum pans I recommend placing the entire pan into a ziploc freezer bag to prevent leaks! Label...freeze....ENJOY!

Baking instructions....
1. Thaw completely.
2. Cover with foil (if you are using an Ovenbake remove the plastic lid first!) and bake at 350 for 20 minutes...then remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes.