Italian Calzones

I had my first Bar studying freak-out Wednesday night (or sometime around 2am on Thursday, to be more technical), complete with a few tears and a proclamation that "I don't *sniffle* even wanna BE a lawyer!!" Not my proudest moment. I am continually in awe of how my sweet husband puts up with me. Anyway, under three weeks to go, and the fear is setting in a bit. I can't wait for it all to be over.
Oh. And in the interest of full disclosure, all these recipes I've been posting lately were stockpiled from at least a month ago. I wrote a bunch of posts in May when I had a week off and scheduled them throughout the summer. Lest you think I'm Superwoman or something, here I am, openly admitting that I'm doing ZERO cooking at this point. And very little cleaning. Bar exam trumps everything else. On the plus side, I've also done zero shopping since May except one trip to Goodwill where I spent $11 on a dress and a giant ampersand (remind me to tell you about that later), and we've eaten at restaurants only three or four times all summer long (depending on whether the ever-so-fancy Subway counts), so we're saving lots and lots of money! And I've lost some weight unintentionally because I keep doing things like eating an apple for lunch so I can keep studying. So, if you want to shed pounds and save dollars, the Bar exam may be a good choice! Haha. Moving on...
I had some leftover ricotta cheese in the fridge, so I did a Google search for what I could do with it, and I found this recipe. I'm so glad I did because it's so delicious, and pretty easy too! Apparently "real" authentic calzones use ricotta and no marinara on the inside, and that's just how I like them! 

Recipe adapted from here.
Ingredients: 1 package active dry yeast 1 cup warm water 1 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil, divided 1 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp salt 2 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup ricotta cheese 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1/2 cup diced pepperoni 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms 1 tbsp dried basil leaves 1 egg, beaten marinara for serving (optional)
Directions: 1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, sugar, and salt. Mix in 1 cup of flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour, until dough is smooth. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until dough is elastic. 2. Lay dough in a bowl coated with 1 tsp olive oil. Flip the dough over, cover, and let rise for 40 minutes (it should almost double in size). 3. While dough is rising, combine ricotta, cheddar, pepperoni, mushrooms, and basil in a large bowl. Mix well and set aside in refrigerator. 4. Punch the dough down and separate it into two parts. On a lightly-floured surface, roll each part into a thin circle. 5. Fill each circle with half of the filling mixture and fold over. Fasten the edges by folding them in and pressing them with a fork. Brush some of the beaten egg on top of each calzone. 6. Place the calzones on a lightly-greased baking sheet, and bake at 375 for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. 7. Serve warm with marinara dipping sauce.
(dough, before rising)
(filling mixture)
(dough circle - obviously, it doesn't have to be a perfect circle)
(filling)
(ready for the oven!)
(yummm!)
Ta-da!
Enjoy!