Apple Cups

I still had leftover apples from when I went apple picking last month.  I was wondering what to do with them, when I realized I had leftover homestyle biscuits from the monkey bread.  With these two things in hand, I decided to make apple cups!

Ingredients:
2-3 apples (I used Fuji)
**1 package homestyle biscuits (the package I used had 10 biscuits)
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions:
Peel the apples, and cut them into cubes.  Place them into a large skillet, adding the butter.  Once the butter is melted, add 1 tbsp brown sugar.  Sauté on low heat while you prepare the biscuits.
Take one biscuit, and using the palm of your hand to flatten it.  Take a second biscuit and place it along one edge, again spreading using the palm of your hand.  Place the biscuit into a well-greased cupcake pan, with the seam on the pan.
Scoop the apple mixture into the cups until filled.  Make sure that you do not over fill the cups, as the biscuits will rise and push some of the mixture upwards.
Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes, or the biscuits have browned.
Let cool for about 10 minutes, then transfer the apple cups.  During this time, use the leftover butter in your pan and add the brown sugar to it, 1 tbsp at a time, until there is no butter left in the pan and the brown sugar is completely melted.  Spoon the mixture over the top of the apple cups.  If the mixture becomes hard, just heat it up again!  I had to heat mine three time.  If you really are not a fan of sugar, then you can also skip this step.

My suggestion is to serve warm.

Enjoy!


**Each cup uses two biscuits.  I made 5 cups and used a little under 3 apples.  Please adjust the recipe accordingly (ie. doubling if you are serving more than 5 people).

Chocolate Monkey Bread

When my Grandma Ellen and Grandpa Arnold were here a few weeks ago, they gave me a recipe for a walnut and raisin monkey bread.  Seeing that I do not like either of those, I decided to change it and make a chocolate monkey bread.  I was in a rush yesterday when I was making it, and definitely did not follow the recipe. That being said, I still think it turned out really well, therefore, here is the altered recipe.

Ingredients:
3 containers of 7.5 oz homestyle biscuits
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1.5 cups chocolate chips (I used 1 cup but thought it could have used more)
1/4 cup melted butter

Instructions:

1. Grease a fluted bundt-pan
2. Cut the biscuits into quarters
3. In a large ziplock bag or bowl, put in the light brown sugar and cinnamon.  Then place the quarters in the bag/ bowl and coat
4. Place a layer of biscuit quarters on the bottom of the pan, followed by chocolate chips.  Repeat, ending with a layer of biscuits on the top.  Don't worry, only about 1/2 of the pan will be full.
5. Pour half of the melted butter evenly over the top
6. Spoon in about 2 tbsp of the leftover brown sugar mixture until the mixture is all brown, and pour evenly over the top.
7. Bake in the oven, at 350, for about 30 minutes.  The dough should be completely cooked through, and the top of the monkey bread will be brown.
8. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then flip it upside down onto a plate or server.
9. Eat right out of the oven, or heat up before eating.  It is good at room temperature, but fantastic when it is warm.

Enjoy!!

Heart Walk 2015

Today was the day that I attended my first Heart Walk, or any other American Heart Association event, alone.  For some, it may not seem like that big of a deal, and it isn't, but it was another step towards independence for me.  I have been involved with the American Heart Association since I was about 5 years old.  It holds a place in my heart, and I love attending and participating in their events.  Some of you may not know that I was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect.  I have undergone many minor surgeries, and two open-heart surgeries.  My last surgery was 10 1/2 years ago, where I received a porcine pulmonary valve.  This has allowed for me to be "normal", to ke up with my peers physically.  About three years ago, I was told that I have another series of problems, a side effect from the Tetralogy.  I live with my heart problems everyday, but I do not let it define me.  I am a healthy, normal 22 year-old, attending graduate school, with the goal of obtaining my Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences.