As American as Apple Pie

We now live in the birthplace of America, so you'd think we would have soaked up yesterday's 4th of July activities around Philly.

That didn't happen.

We have a new dog, and Buster is NOT a fan of his crate yet, so we had to make our own fun at home.

***Side Note*** It's a rule in our building that dogs must be crated when no one is home. I've never had an indoor dog before, so I didn't realize what went into crate training. I HATE IT. My heart rips out when my poor baby cries and paws at the door. I'm also pretty sure Joe and I are never going to be able to leave the house again at the same time. Joe is more optimistic. He also makes me leave the room if I start getting sad when Buster cries, worried that I am going to make our dog neurotic. It's probably a good thing I am practicing mommy-hood on a dog before we have kids ***End of Side Note***

Since I'd be stuck inside anyway, I got my mind wrapped around the idea of making a homemade apple pie. I've never made a pie before, and thought that now was as good a time as any to learn.

I don't always have the best of luck in the kitchen and tend to be too ambitious when I try to make things for the first time, so I decided to forgo making the crust from scratch. Instead, the goal was to practice making the filling and not burning or under-cooking the pie. Lofty enough goals for this wanna-be culinary goddess.

But somehow it turned out - and it was DELICIOUS:

I followed this recipe, which I highly recommend, making the following adjustments based on some of the comments:

• Used a combination of granny smith and pink lady apples (my idea!)

• Added 1 tablespoon of vanilla and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the sugar mixture

• Poured 2/3 of the sugar mixture on the apples before and 1/3 after adding the lattice instead of pouring it all on after

• Baked for 45 minutes at 350 instead of 15 at 425 and 30-45 at 350 (our oven tends to cook things quicker than other ovens I've used)

The only problem with the pie is that it was really watery, which my mom told me happens with apple pies in particular. I'm not experienced enough to know what caused or would solve this problem for sure, but she said to try mixing the apples with flour or cornstarch. The pie did become less liquid as it cooled more (and after sitting in the fridge overnight it is more like a runny caramel), so I'd probably try using cornstarch and making it a day early next time.

After dinner and pie, Joe and I took Buster for a walk and lit some sparklers. As a born-and-raised California girl (where fireworks are strictly forbidden for personal use), I've never even held a sparkler. So I was pretty excited :)

Buster's not too impressed haha

Yep - not one bit

And, of course, we had to watch Independence Day. I cannot believe the President's daughter is Egg (a.k.a. Her a.k.a. Plant a.k.a. Mouth a.k.a. Ann) from Arrested Development. That's one of my favorite parts about watching older movies (can you believe this one is 17 years old!!!) - seeing actors you now recognize from other things.

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