Because it was Pi Day. . .

Saturday marked a very important day in made-up holidays.  Some may argue that it doesn't really matter, but I think we all just need an excuse to celebrate something everyday.  Without that, life would be really mundane.  In this case, it is really nerdy holiday and because I married a full fledged math guy (he has his MA in the subject), he deserves to have pie on pi day.  But, making pie isn't always my favorite thing to do.  Especially last week.  Both kids had ear infections, Ethan was home sick for 3 days, and quite frankly by the time Saturday hit, I was pretty much done.  Done with whiny, sick, kids who didn't get the memo that you're supposed to sit and veg all day.  I still wanted to make a pie, but just not put the work into it. . . Yes, I was being lazy.

I searched Pinterest for different pie recipes and came across one by Trisha Yearwood.  Anytime, a dessert is made in a cast iron skillet, it gets my attention.  Because it is one my favorite and most used cooking tools!  It looked pretty easy, had minimal ingredients, and even found a fellow blogger who had blogged about the recipe with rave reviews.  I won't lie. . . I was still skeptical.  I mean, it had canned apple pie filling.

But,  I bought all the ingredients, even an extra can of pie filling (just in case).  It took a whopping 5 minutes to prep and only 30 minutes to bake!  It smelled amazing and tasted more than amazing!  This was definitely a winner!  I will note: Don't try to make this in a regular pie pan. . . the skillet makes it work.  If you don't have a cast iron skillet, I encourage you to buy one.  They aren't too pricey and seriously, they last forever and there's pretty much no way to ruin it!  Plus, they make your food taste even better, while adding a little bit of iron naturally into your food (a plus for people who have low iron, like me!). Unlike most pie recipes, this one has a brown sugar buttery mixture on the bottom of the pie, which is seriously what makes this pie.  The combo of the skillet and the oven give it a crunchy feel to it and it basically makes you want more and more. 

We shared some of this amazingness with my best friend and her husband and they agree, this pie rocks!  In fact, I think she is making it this week! 

Make this.  Invite someone over and eat over coffee (or a bowl of ice cream)! 

Skillet Apple Pie

Adapted from Trisha Yearwood's FN recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

2 refrigerated pie crusts

2 - 21oz. cans apple pie filling*

cinnamon sugar mixture

Directions:

Heat your skillet on the stove until warm.  Start melting butter and let it hang out until completely melted.  Add brown sugar to butter.  Stir and let it cook for about 2 minutes.  Then, take out your refrigerated pie crust and roll it out just a little bit.  Lay it on top of the skillet and press it down, like a pie crust.  Pour both cans of pie filling into dough.  Sprinkle with some cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll out second crust a bit and place carefully on top of apples.  Bunch up the sides, like you would a normal pie.  It's in a cast iron skillet so aim for a rustic look.  Cut a few holes to let the steam vent.  Sprinkle more cinnamon sugar mixture over the top.  Bake in preheated oven at 400 for 30 minutes.  

Best when eaten hot!

* the original recipe called for only 1 can of pie filling.  I didn't think it was nearly enough and found the two cans to be perfect.  

If you are using a skillet that is larger than 9 inches, you may want to go for a third can of filling,  but do the same things, just roll out your crust to fit your pan.