Day 41: Two dishes "To-Go": Italian meat & cheese platter, & EASY calzones!!!

Today was one of those days that we were running around like crazy.  It's 8:30 and I'm just now sitting down to write this post.  In addition to the regular Saturday routine of gymnastics plus errands, we had 2 events to attend, both to which I brought food to share.  For the first, I made an Italian cheese/meat/olive platter.  Simple enough to do, but it can get overwhelming when you're looking at the fine cheese department in the grocery store.  My tip for platters is to stick with one region (i.e. use all French cheeses or Italian, etc.)  I sort of bent the rules and picked up some smoked cheddar, which isn't Italian, but it looked good and I thought it fit my style.  For this platter, I went simple: 1 Italian meat, provolone cubes, mozzarella balls, and an assortment of olives.  The lettuce "bed" adds a nice touch!

For a family potluck, I made my version of Ree Drummond's "Easy Calzones."  THEY ARE EASY and so delicious!!!  I don't use her recipe for marinara, I just use my spaghetti sauce recipe minus the meat.

Easy Calzones (makes 24 calzones)
I love this recipe because the calzones are small enough to handle with one hand--just dip and bite!  They stay together well, too.
1 1/2 lb breakfast sausage
1 TB parsley flakes
1 TB dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2  onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
32 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 eggs, plus 1 egg for an egg wash
2 TB fresh chopped parsley
salt, pepper
24 frozen dinner rolls (They usually come in packages of 12)

Set the dinner rolls out under a damp cloth to defrost and rise for several hours.
Crumble the sausage into a large skillet over medium heat and start to brown.  Add the Italian spices.  (*Breakfast sausage is generally more mild than Italian sausage, and easier to chew with less gristle, which is why it makes a difference to use breakfast sausage and add seasoning, than to just use Italian sausage.)  Add the onion and garlic and cook until the sausage is cooked through and the onion is translucent.
In a bowl, mix the ricotta and mozzarella cheese and the 2 eggs.  Add the meat mixture and the fresh parsley and season with salt and pepper.  Mix thoroughly.
With your hands, flatten and stretch out the dinner rolls.  Place a dollop or two of the filling on each roll.  I brush a little bit of water around the edges of the rolls so that they will stick better.  Fold the rolls in half and push down around the edges.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Brush the tops with an egg wash and prick them with a fork.  Bake at 400* for about 10-15 minutes.  Serve with marinara sauce.