sausage, pear and brie calzones

my kids love "pizza pockets." i normally fill them with the typical ricotta, mozzarella, meat and marinara, but this week i was just yearning for something out of the ordinary.  this was absolutely delicious.  just a perfect blend of flavors and textures.  and the fact that i cheated and used a ready-made pizza dough--thus cutting the prep time in half--made the meal all the more enjoyable.  done in less than 25 minutes!

from everyday food magazine.

ingredients

1 pillsbury thin crust pizza dough--i will always make it using this instead of making my own dough.  there's no way i could replicate the light, airy...almost flakiness of this crust.  it was perfect.
4 chicken sausage links, casings removed, sliced and sauteed til brown
1 pear, thinly sliced
6 oz brie, torn off into chunks

directions

unroll dough and cut in half (now you have two smaller rectangles).  on the bottom half of each rectangle arrange the sausage, then pear slices, then brie.  fold top half onto the bottom.  pinch and roll over to seal.  bake @ 400 for 15 minutes.

everyday food magazine adds a few suggestions for other calzone concoctions that might be worth a try.  here they are (i also tried the ham and broccoli version and really liked that as well):

1) mushrooms, artichoke hearts and fontina; 2) ham, broccoli and sharp cheddar; 3) ricotta, spinach and fresh mozzarella; and 4) 3/4 ricotta, 3 tablespoons powered sugar, 3 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate and 1/2 C chopped nuts of choice.