NBPM: Day 4- WFMW: Easy Apple Pie

(This is my offering for We Are That Family's Works For Me Wednesday. If you're visiting from the carnival - Welcome! I hope you find something you like.)

Thanksgiving is part of my very favorite time of year. I was born on a Thanksgiving (I don't think the dr. was very thankful that he missed the game that day...) so Thanksgiving was always a time to celebrate my birthday, as well as the holiday. Pumpkin pie and birthday cake, every year! Mmmm.

This year might be my first year to host Thanksgiving, and I plan on making everything as easy as possible...starting with the pie.

I know everybody has an apple pie recipe that is The Best. It was Grandma's. It was Auntie's. It was Great-Aunt Bertha's Neighbor's Mother's...and it's The Best.

This summer, while on vacation with my family, I was faced with oodles and oodles of fresh, cheap apples and a need for pie. (We were in Wenatchee County, after all. Where's that? Look at the next box of apples you buy - if it's from Washington, it's from Wenatchee County.) I found My Best on Short Notice.

You ready:

Preheat your oven to 350. Grab a pie plate, and roll a pre-made pie crust into it. (You could use homemade, but really? Store bought always works. Perfect your homemade crust some other time.)

Peel, slice and core your apples. You'll need about a pound of them. You want the pie loaded about 2" above the rim, so eyeball it. Cut your apples into a bowl, and then toss in a scant 1/4 cup of flour, a scant 1/4 cup sugar, a few shakes of cinnamon (and a little lemon juice if none of your apples are tart). A dash of vanilla will make the pie really pop.

Pile the apples into the pie plate, then dot the top with a little bit of butter (about 3 T. total).

Situate the second crust from the box onto the top, and be sure to get some good vents into it with a sharp knife. Crimp the edges together (fold the bottom crust up over the top on and pinch them together). You can brush the top with a bit of milk, and sprinkle it with sugar to make it sparkle.

Bake the pie for about 30 minutes, or until the top is nice and golden and the apples are soft.
(If you can't tell, this is totally a Stand Back and Throw type of recipe. Like it sweeter? Taste an apple! Make it taste good...and you'll never go wrong.)

Then, sit back and know that you've just freed up a ton of brain space for more important things. Like seating arrangements. And a birthday cake for Aunt LoLo.

For more great tips, hints and tricks, head on over to We Are That Family!