cardamom blueberry crisp

I'm borrowing a magazine from my mother-in-law (called Hobby Farm Home). It's an excellent magazine. This issue is especially fun because it has a whole section on desserts you can make in a cast iron skillet. The first one we tried was cardamom blueberry crisp. It was a hard decision with other recipes like caramel seckel pears, minted brownie torte, cinnamon plum kuchen, and mocha pudding cake. We decided to go for one that we had all the ingredients for. It sure was simple and yummy! Well, the real reason that I borrowed this magazine is because their is an article on how to make your own mozzarella cheese with a gallon of milk. But, remember that whole prioritizing thing? That one might have to wait until school's out.


Cardamom Blueberry Crisp
(adapted from Hobby Farm Home)

5 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen) I used 3 c. blueberries and 2 c. mixed berries
3/4 c. flour ( I used 1/4 c. wheat flour)
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cardamom
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spread the blueberries in a 9-inch cast iron skillet. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and cardamom. With your fingers or a pastry blender, work in the butter until crumbly. Spread over the berries. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until berries are bubbly and crust is golden. Serve warm.

priorities

Ryan and I have been doing a lot of talking, thinking, and reflecting lately. I wasn't joking when I said our to-do list was 8 miles long (well, maybe that was a slight exaggeration:) But we really do have so many projects going on and are feeling a little like there is not enough time in the day (or days in the weekend) to accomplish everything we set out to do. The tough part is that all of our obligations are not even in the same town....so add a little driving time to the list. Oh, and a ten month old. But, how can you not stop in the middle of it all to enjoy his giggles and chase him around the house??

Needless to say, we've been prioritizing. And making lists. It's not always fun (well the lists are:), but sometimes the things that you need to do are not the things that you want to do. Sometimes the right thing is the hardest thing. When I see people around me struggling with the same things I try to learn from them. I think I've learned more about what not to do though, which can be just as valuable. We are called to do the jobs the Lord has given us, and to do them well. I'm trying to remember that as I balance all the important things in my life. If I let myself get stretched too thin, I won't be able to do any of it well.

It's a tough thing to decide how to spend our time. It feels good to know that Ryan and I are on the same page. We know that these projects do have an end in sight. We will cross things off the list. And we know that God is good, even when things are overwhelming. We've seen that time and time again.

plan b

Ryan and I had big plans for working on the garden today. We are moving our garden to a new location this year (bigger and better:), but that means we need to put a fence up and start amending the soil. So that is what we were going to start this morning. But this is what we woke up to:

Snow, snow, and more snow. Yup, it's still coming down. Snow as far as the eye can see:

Guess we'll have to go to Plan B: maple pecan scones from PW and tackling something else on our to-do list. I'm sure we can find something, our list is only about 8 miles long.

the so fun gloves

I recieved a pretty cool birthday present from ryan's aunt sheri. This girl can knit! She has already spoiled mason with a blanket, a beanie, and little blue booties. She knows more about knitting than me and my knitting friends combined and I've picked her brain many times. She's helped me out of a few knotty situations. Plus, she has a knitting group that gets together regularly to knit...how fun would that be? Friends, knitting, wine, good food...um, sign me up.

Anyway, she sent me a gift quite unexpectedly. Check out these fun fingerless gloves. The color is perfect. I've worn them to work everyday since I got them. They are prefect for keeping my hands from having to touch the cold steering wheel in the morning. Plus, they just make me smile. Thanks Aunt Sheri!

wordless wednesday

molten chocolate cakes

Last Sunday my cousin, Karly, and I were scrapbooking. After dinner we were craving some chocolate. So, we started looking through my cookbooks and once we found these cakes, we knew they would be the perfect thing. This is a makeover recipe from one of my Light & Tasty cookbooks. These babies are cakey on the outside and full of fudgy, melted chocolate gooeyness on the inside. You must eat these warm!

Makeover Molten Chocolate Cakes

1/3 c. butter, cubed

1/3 c. baking cocoa

3 squares (1 oz. each) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 eggs

7 egg whites (don't let all the eggs scare you:)

1 c. confectioners' sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. flour

1/8 tsp. salt

Place the butter, cocoa and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until melted and stir until smooth. Add the eggs, egg whites, confectioners' sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Mix well.

Of course if you want to make these exactly like we did....then have your sweet cousin pour in two cups of granulated sugar. Laugh your head off...tell her what confectioners' sugar is. Scoop out as much sugar as you can. Proceed with powedered sugar.

Stir in the flour and salt until blended. Pour into seven 6 oz. custard cups coated with non-stick cooking spray. Place custard cups on a baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160 near the center. Remove from oven and let stand 1 minute. Invert onto individual dessert plates and dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Karly and her sister Lacy are coming over again today after church for some scrapbooking and lots of laughs. Who knows what we'll cook up next:)

greenhouse life

It's been fun watching all the sprouts take off in the greenhouse, mixed in with some of our veggies that we had over the winter. We learned a lot this winter and next year will be even better!

Look at that garlic! We planted it last fall. It's our first time growning garlic. We have three different kinds. I love cooking with fresh garlic. Yum!

Spinach doing its thing.

This romaine-type lettuce is so good! It's called forellenschluss lettuce. It's speckled with red and so yummy! It gets pretty big leaves, this one is just a baby.

More lettuce. Check out all those little ones in the back. Yeah!

We also have carrot, radish, pea, turnip, and green onions sprouting, but they are pretty small still and the pictures wouldn't be that great. It's fun to hang out in the warm greenhouse, especially when you look out the greenhouse and see this:


Hurry up winter and melt away:)

the ultimate party!

If you're not sure what this is all about...it's a blog party hosted by the sweet gals over at 5 minutes for mom. Check out their site for all the fun details.

Hello and welcome to my blog! If this is your first time here, let the party begin! Here's a little info about me.

My name is Leanne. I am a Colorado native. I grew up in the city, but have been living in the beautiful mountains of Colorado ever since I graduated from college. I am a second grade teacher and I absolutely love my job! I am so blessed to work in a wonderful school (the only school) in our small town.


I have been married for almost 6 years to an amazing husband. He is my best friend, my encourager, and a wonderful daddy. We have a 10 month old son, Mason, who keeps us very busy. He brings so much joy to our lives every day.






My husband and I love the outdoors! We love to hike, fish, camp, four-wheel (we have an '85 4-runner...our baby:), and snowshoe. I've hiked several 14ers (moutains above 14, 000 ft, for those of you who aren't from around here) and have plans in the works for a couple more this summer. We have 2 dogs who love to go on our adventures too. Our bloodhound, Daisy, is better at laying in the sun by the lake or river while we fish and finding random items on camping trips, and Java, our black lab/mutt, is my hiking partner!











We love to garden and are always looking to be more self-sustaining. I have plenty of hobbies...basically I love anything with paper, yarn, or fabric. I enjoy scrapbooking, cardmaking, knitting/crocheting, sewing, and learning new things. I have a small etsy shop.




I love to bake and cook for my family. I have a slight obsession with cookbooks and trying every single recipe in them. I haven't made my way through an entire book yet (it doesn't help that I keep adding to my collection,) but it's fun. I am into clean eating. We grind our own wheat and make all of our bread. I treasure our meal times together, especially after a day of work.

Most of all, I love my Lord and Savior and strive to live my life for Him. At times it can be hard to balance everything: work, mommy-hood, family, things I enjoy, etc. But I find that by putting Christ first, it all gets a little bit easier. Thanks for visiting.

an antique week

Every once in a while Ryan and I like to wander through antique stores. It's been a while since I posted my finds. Over a year ago we found these Well, we've sure been adding a few things to our house this week. Ryan and I stopped at many stores last weekend and his parents surprised me with a fun birthday gift. I didn't photo everything, but here are a few of our finds (and gifts).

My in-laws wrapped this fun old container with green checked fabric (I have a project in mind) and filled it with my birthday gifts. It now holds some lettuce pots in our greenhouse. When it gets warmer I'll plant something fun in it. Mason sure enjoyed helping me unpack it.


They got me two tall mason jars (on the left) and I found a bunch of knitting needles for $1.00 a set. The tall jars make a great holder! I also found a couple smaller mason jars. I love to use them for my crafty items. Some of these needles I already had, but check out those huge wooden ones I found. I can't wait to start a project with those. I also found two wire milk crates that I am using to stash my yarn in.

More goodies from Ryan's parents: a canning funnel (that has a screw-on attachment), an icecream scoop, a chicken cookie cutter(fun!), and a biscuit/tart/ravioli cutter.

They also found these cool garden tools that are now hanging in our greenhouse.

More finds: A couple of those mason jars I already mentioned. A fun old sewing pattern. I love that green planter box I found for $3.00. I am going to put it on a shelf in the bathroom with rolled up washcloths in it. And a few kitchen finds: a small whisk (mine broke) and a spice holder thingy (that's the technical term) for stews, soups, hot drinks and such. I feel some spiced wine coming on...without having to strain out all the good spices for each cup:)I was on the lookout for a potato masher. I've broken two so far. Is it just me or are things made more cheaply these days? This one with the cool red handle will last forever I think. So much sturdier. I have also been looking for an egg-beater. (especially after I broke my whisk:). This will be perfect for whipping up some scrambled eggs for little Mason.

See that cool contraption with the green handle? It's a doughnut cutter! I actually found two. I gave one to Hillary, since we've been working on our doughnut making skills.

Pretty neat, huh? I guess I better go put all this stuff away:)

10 months

Hey, baby Mason. It won't be long before I won't really be able to call you baby anymore! Your one year birthday is sneaking up on us. We are constantly amazed at how much you have grown and changed since that day in June when we brought you home. We thank our Lord every day for you. You've spent a lot of time with family this month, which is a blessing. You continue to cheer us up even on the saddest days.

Mason, at 10 months, you:

~are crawling all over the place (mostly army crawl style, but you're getting the hang of all fours:)

~make so much noise!

~are "talking" all the time, especially in the car

~are learning to clap when we ask you to

~love to play peek-a- boo,

~love scrambled eggs and cheese

~would much rather sit than lay down

~prefer to feed yourself

~can be found playing in your crib when you should be napping

~follow me when I leave the room

~love bath time

~enjoy having your teeth brushed (you still have just 2 on the bottom)

~are still very ticklish

~love to take things out of their containers (towels out of drawers, toys out of their basket, etc.)

~smile all the time

~are very easygoing

~try to pull yourself up on things

~love the wind in your face

Mason, we love you more and more each day.

xoxo,

mommy

easter trip

We headed to beautiful Glenwood Springs to spend Easter with some family that lives there. My mom and sister and brother-in-law met us there. It was a couple days of worshipping at church, celebrating Easter, eating and spending time together. My uncle made homemade ice cream (yum!) and we spent one evening at the hot springs. It was such a lovely, relaxing trip. Mason got lots of family love too!

me and mom

mason with aunt kati and uncle chris

I love my new easter toys!

helping cousin jeri win at scattergories

sitting with (great) aunt sally
uncle chris, you're the best especially when you fly me through the air!

special times with aunt kates (who feeds me anything I want:)

I can't wait until we can make another trip. My papa will soon be moving there, which gives us another reason to visit. I am so thankful for my family!

sew little time

I bought some fabric a couple months ago with the intent of working on some projects over spring break. Well, I worked on a lot of projects, but sewing, unfortunately was not one of them. So, the fabric still sits in my stash.


This fun purple polka dot beauty is waiting to be transformed into a couple pillowcase dresses.

Here is a picture of a some of these dresses I made last year. I didn't take a picture of the finished project for some reason. I loved this fabric!
These pretty fabrics are for some aprons. I have two aprons that I adore. I love them because they were handcrafted by two special people (hi caroline and lacy!) and the fabric choices are so fun (and a little retro). I'll have to take a couple pics soon. While I'm waiting to start on these.

Loving the blue and brown.
Oh, but these are fun too.

Well, spring break is not over until Tuesday, but I'll be surprised if I get to these. That's ok because the rest of this break will be filled with enjoying the outdoors! Today is antique shopping and lunch with my two loves and then dinner with friends. The rest of the weekend should hold snowshoeing, hot springs, shopping, and family! What are your Easter plans?