monday funday (and apple pie)

Happy Monday, friends! I hope your weekend was fabulous and your week has started off well. I started my week with a lovely 5 mile run (it was 57 degrees when I woke up! It felt great since it has been in the 40's lately in the mornings here) and now I have moved on to some strong coffee.

I must admit I am a little bummed because I wanted to go apple picking this weekend and it appears picking here in NC is over for the season. I follow on Facebook the place I picked apples when I lived in Central New York (Beak and Skiff) and they are still picking away. I am jealous that apple picking won't be in my future this fall (but if anyone in NY wants to send me a bushel of Macintosh apples - my favorite for eating and cooking, let me know). :)

I bought some apples at the store that were grainy and less-than-desirable for eating...so I did what anyone else would do. I made a pie...and it was delicious. Who doesn't love pie? Basically I made an apple crisp pie since we didn't have enough crust for the top.

Here is what I did: really easy - peel and slice 4-5 medium to large apples. Place in a bowl and toss with 1/4 cup each sugar and flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Place in your pie crust (we would have made our own but we happened to have a pre-made in the freezer, so we used that). Once apples are in the pie crust I sprinkle a little corn starch (about 1 teaspoon) on top just to make sure the pie isn't too wet. Top with your favorite crisp topping (I used this one a la Betty Crocker and added some chopped pecans we had in our pantry.) Cook at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes (time depends on apples you use...test after 30 minutes to see if apples are soft. If they are still firm, keep on cookin'.)

If this looks like it might be too much sugar for you, you can always reduce or omit the sugar being tossed with the apples.

Happy baking! : )