Apple pie, anyone?

Ok, so I'm not trying to brag. Really, I'm not. But I make a mean apple pie. I was never really a fan of apple pie until my mom and I came across this incredible recipe. And now...I'm hooked.

I never used to be a big fan of the making of pie, though. Making the perfect crust can be so difficult! Seriously. But I quite enjoy the eating of pie. A lot. So last year when my singles branch did a Thanksgiving dinner, I signed up to make an apple pie. Strike that; I signed up to make two of them. (Yeah, get comf. I always make these stories longer than necessary.)

I had the incredible recipe; but I had been out of practice. I hadn't made a pie since...I don't know when. But I wanted to try. And I wanted to stun the heck out of my singles branch in the process. (I'm not sure it was pride, per se...ok. Yes, yes it was. If you look at definition #4, that was my intention.) Anyway...I made my pies. And they were delish! Oh, so tasty!

Side story; I'm no Martha Stewart and I wasn't necessarily pleasant while making the pies. Although the pies tasted most excellent, their appearance was less than stellar. I actually called my mother up to whine and moan and complain about the unsightly state of my pies. She then told me, "It's what's on the inside that counts, Gina." Isn't she charming? I knew she was right; I had helped her make some rather ugly, yet delicious, pies in the past. But I was uber-disappointed in the aesthetics of my two apple pies. No one in the branch seemed to notice or care...

Anyway. The pies were a big hit; the praise from my branch helped heal the self-inflicted wounds of serving (not one but) two unattractive apple pies. So I thought I'd give it another go.

But I decided I'd never make 2 pies at once. Ever. Again. It wasn't just the pie crust; I knew that I could learn to make them prettier with practice. It was the consumption of 2 hours in the kitchen that really bothered me. Two hours to make 2 pies. Ouch!

Because peeling and slicing apples takes quite a while, my friends. Seriously. A. Long. Time.

Anyway, I've never really needed to make 2 pies at once since that point in time. But I've continued to make this awesome apple pie throughout the year. (Whoever said that apple pie is a "fall food" is ridiculous. I'll have you know that it tastes just as wonderful in May as it does in November.) So yeah, I've made a LOT of apple pies over the past year. One at a time. (Except for that one time when our branch celebrated Johnny Appleseed Day...)

So. Last night after work, my wonderful roommate Lisa said that she wanted to give me part of my Christmas present early. I told her I could totally wait, but she didn't want to. So she went to her room and brought out a large-ish red gift bag. And here's what was inside:

It's an apple peeler!

This bad boy peels, cores and slices! We used it last night. Lisa made apple dumplings. And it only took like 5 minutes (maybe less) to peel, core and slice 6 or 7 apples! I made an apple pie last Sunday and it took me approximately 45 minutes to peel, core and slice that many! Shoot! I am very excited!

Isn't it a lovely sight?!
It's even lovelier to realize it (peeling, coring and slicing)
didn't, in fact, take the better part of an hour!

Thank you, Lisa!!!