mini blueberry-peach pies

Saturday it all hit me - my jet lag from our Rome/Ireland trip that followed by a busy {and let's get real, at times alcohol soaked} four days in Vegas.  Mix in a stupid cold that stuck around for two weeks and I was exhausted on Saturday.  I slept half the day, woke tired and then went back to bed at 8pm.   The one thing I managed to do all day was make these mini pies and eat.

I also went to the store because we were out of garbage bags.  Although we could have easily gotten by for one day with old grocery bags, I made the trip because Yogurtland is located next to the grocery store. After two mini pies I really needed a massive serving of froyo and candy.  It was just one of those days :).

These pies are the perfect "look like you slaved but they're ridiculously simple" dessert.  Make them and wow everyone with your baking skills.  

mini blueberry-peach pies {makes six mini pies - double for more}

filling
-a cup of blueberries
-two large peaches - chopped
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

crust
-1/4 cup sugar
-1/3 cup vegetable oil
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 egg
-1 cup and one tablespoon all purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a bowl, toss together the blueberries and peaches and cinnamon.  Set aside. 
3. In a second bowl, put all the ingredients for the crust and mix together with a wooden spoon until well combined.
4. Fill six ramekins {or small mugs that are oven safe if you don't have ramekins} with the fruit and top each ramekin with the dough.  I started with a small handful of dough, flattened it into a disc shape, and spread it over the top of the fruit.  Once the dough is pushed to the edge of each ramekin, use a sharp knife and mark the top of each pie with an X.
5. Put the ramekins on a baking sheet {they will spill over!} and bake for about 20 minutes or until the fruit is bubbly and the crust is golden.

I ate mine with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.  It was perfection.

ireland...once again

Ok, I think this is the last post of vacation pictures.  Are you sick of them yet?

I took these photos on one of our last days in Kerry.  We went for a three mile walk, out to a lake where there is a memorial for several members of the IRA who died about a hundred years ago. I should have better details than that but I cannot remember.  I do remember that it was a beautiful spot for a memorial and a beautiful walk.  Afterwards I had a really big lunch with a side of fries because, you know, we had just walked three miles.  It was totally deserved. 

drive to dingle

I have been to Ireland so many times and have so many pictures of the place, it's a little crazy.  Every time I am there I take photos...of the same scenery I shot the year before.  It is just so beautiful. Admittedly, I get sick of spending nearly all of our travel time and money on trips to Ireland but the beauty of the place blows me away every time.  I am always a little in awe. 

After stopping in Rome for four days, we flew to Dublin and made the 4ish hour drive down to County Kerry {where Neil is from}.  We spent our entire trip this time in Kerry.  It only really rained one of the days we we there and most of the time it was nice and sunny.  

The first day In Ireland we drove out to Dingle.  If you are ever in Ireland, Dingle is such a great little town to visit.  It's about an hour drive from Neil's hometown and I realized that I had not been there since one of my first trips to Ireland seven years ago. The day was so sunny and warm.  Ireland is a different country when the sun is shining.

In Dingle we wandered around, ate at the Chowder Cafe, drank a few of the Tom Crean's local brews from the Dingle Brewing Company, got ice cream from Murphy's {some of the best ice cream in the world}, and took photos.  It was a good day.

p.s. I know that all these pictures are basically the same shot again and again but I couldn't pick just one or two to share :).

rome in photos

We spent four days in Rome before heading to Ireland to visit my husband's fam.  While in Rome we did and saw a lot but we could have easily spent four more days touring the city.  There is just SO much to see.

The ancient ruins in Rome are all so massive and my photos don't really do them justice.   I think it's a combo of me not owning the most amazing camera and {more so} my lack of photography skills.  I tried to capture the enormity of everything but it was hard to do.  Rome is a really gorgeous, bustling city.  I hope to get back to Italy one day and when I do I really want to stay for more than four days :).

GiNa roma

The last day we were in Rome we had lunch at a restaurant named GiNa's.  A friend of mine highly recommended it and since I share a name with the place, I figured it was a must stop.

GiNa's is located very near to the Spanish Steps but is not a touristy location at all.  It is down a side street and has a small blue and white sign hanging outside.

While in Rome we mostly at at traditional "cafe" style places.  We always attempted to find a place outside of the touristy streets and most places we found {with the exception of one} were really good. The style of GiNa's is totally different than your average Roman restaurant.  The menu is a little different too and it was a nice change.

The restaurant is just SO cute.  If I owned a restaurant {or even my own house and could design the kitchen}, the clean, simple, and inviting look of GiNa's is just what I would strive to create.

If you ever find yourself in Rome, eat at GiNa's!  It is located down a tiny little side street just to the left of the Spanish Steps.