Cereal Calzones: A Healthy & Tasty Snack!

I love to bake with cereal – it’s a totally versatile food that can make unique breads, cookies, cakes, and other sweets. But cereal-based cuisine is usually confined to the realm of bake-sale merchandise, perhaps because so many cereals are sweet and lend themselves to desserts more than inclusion in a main course.  This recipe is a notable exclusion, because these Spinach calzones are a savory dish that gets a healthy boost of fiber from an essential ingredient you can buy with Kelloggs coupons: All-Bran cereal. I hate All-Bran on it’s own – it tastes so healthy – but this recipe is a tasty way to get that essential fiber. From the flavor, you’d never even know that it’s good for you!

INGREDIENTS (makes 12):

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup warm water
• 1 cup Kellogg’s All-Bran cereal
• 1 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 oz. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 4 oz. cream cheese spread with chive and onion 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Warm Marinara sauce, for dipping

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Combine yeast and warm water in a small bowl, .let stand 5 minutes. Stir until dissolved.  Stir in All-Bran cereal; let stand another 5 minutes

2.  Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl  Add cereal mixture and oil, stirring until combined (mixture may seem dry).  Knead dough in bowl 2 minutes or until smooth.  Cover with wax paper; let rest 10 minutes.
3.  For filling, in a medium bowl stir together spinach, cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese; set aside.
4.  On a lightly floured surface roll dough to 18 x 12-inch rectangle.  Cut into twenty-four 3-inch squares.  Spoon 1 founded filling onto each square.  Brush edges of dough with milk.  Lift a corner of each square and stretch dough over filling to opposite corner, making a triangle.  Seal with a fork.  Arrange on two 17 x 11 x 1-inch baking sheets coated with cooking spray.  Prick tops with fork to ventilate.  Brush with milk for a golden-brown finish.
5.  Bake at 425ºF for 10 minutes or until golden.  Serve warm with marinara for dipping. 

The variations possible on this recipe as infinite as the possibilities for pizza toppings, so use your imagination – pepperoni? Pineapple? Anchovy? Fill the calzones with whatever suits your fancy. If you loved this recipe as much as I did, check out Kellogg’s website for more cereal cooking ideas and Kelloggs coupons.