Bacon Apple Cheese HotPockets

There are moments when you have a glorious and genius idea, and you wonder why you haven't thought of it before.  That moment happened to me last week when I couldn't quite decide what I wanted to make for dinner.  

I've been a really good meal planner the last couple years, but for some reason 2014 has been less than stellar with the meal planning.  

My lack of meal planning lead to my genius moment.  I'm a procrastinator.  I work really well under pressure.  In elementary school I wrote an impressive report the morning it was due as I sat above school on a hill finishing it.  In undergrad I got the best grades on the assignments I pulled all nighters on.  In grad school my thesis should've been done a lot sooner than it was, but I really just have a difficult time focusing until I feel the pressure from the deadline.

Last week, I just had not decided what I wanted to make for dinner.  After a run to the park with the kids and less than 30 minutes before I needed to have dinner ready so the kids could eat before dark I came up with these delicious, fast, oh so easy Bacon Apple Cheese Homemade HotPockets. 

The 4 ingredients are simple: shredded cheese (sharp or extra sharp gives the best flavor, an apple (granny smith or another tart one is best for flavor), bacon bits, and Grands Biscuits (or 8 large biscuits).

If you already have shredded cheese and bacon bits the only thing left to do is cut the apple and assemble the HotPockets.  Cut thin apple slices, and then cut smaller strips so they fit into the HotPocket  

Assembling the HotPocket is easy peasy.  Spray your pan with a flour/oil mixture like Bakers and then evenly lay out your 8 biscuits.  

Flatten the biscuits thin.  I like to pretend I am making a small pizza. (We've done loads of personal pizzas using biscuits, kids love it!)  

Lay down some cheese in the middle, add some bacon, apple strips, and a little more cheese for good measure.    

Close up your little HotPockets into small smiles or calzones, and be sure to seal the edges.  

Finally, bake at 300 for 15 minutes until they are beautifully browned.  My husband prefers things mostly white/hardly browned so I pulled it out a little on the light side.  I prefer browned... oh the differences between spouses.     

When my husband came home and saw these Bacon Apple Cheese HotPockets cooling on the pan he was beyond excited.

While he was eating these bad boys he declared me a genius.

After he enjoyed 2 of these HotPockets he stated he could eat 5 of these b/c they were so delicious, but that he shouldn't.  

To say my husband was a fan of dinner was an understatement.  Both my toddlers and myself were big fans as well.  These Bacon Apple Chese HotPockets are delicious!  Go make them for dinner tonight... they are too easy not too and your whole family will be big fans.  

Bacon Apple Cheese HotPockets

Alohamora: Open a Book

Active Time: 15 minutes

Inactive Active: 15 minutes

Servings: 4-6 people

Ingredients:

1 apple (tart and thinly sliced)
1/2 c. bacon bits
1 c. shredded cheese (sharp or extra sharp)
8 Grands Biscuits (or any big biscuits)

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with baking spray to prevent sticking. 
2. Open biscuits and place them on the pan.  Flatten and stretch the individual biscuit dough into thin circles. 
3. On top of a stretched and flattened biscuit layer cheese, bacon bits, apple sliced strips, and more cheese on each biscuit. 
4. Pull one side of the biscuit over the other side and seal the two ends making smiley faces or mini calzones.  
5. Bake at 300 for 14-17 minutes until golden brown.  

There you have it, a genius fast and easy dinner recipe that can be put on the table in 30 minutes, and it is husband and kid friendly.