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     As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention.  I had some fresh blackberries that needed to be used as well as some very ripe bananas.  I wasn't in the mood to make bread or pie, so VOILA!   This Banana Blackberry Crumble is born! I baked it in my large cast iron skillet, which seems so down home and comforting for some reason. 

     Who knew that berries and bananas could marry so well?  Since my tastebuds have never totally recovered from Covid, my friend Rhonda, my husband and my son all gave this recipe the thumbs up. 

      The first step is to get the blackberries ready.  By adding the cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice to them first, the juices will begin to flow, giving this crumble its moist goodness. 

       Next, you mix up the crumble ingredients.  The butter should be cold, (not frozen), and cut into the dry ingredients so that it lives up to its name...crumble.  

       Finally, prepare the bananas.  When I first made this recipe, I simply sliced them and then caramelized them on one side.  But, Rhonda suggested chopping them a bit smaller and caramelizing them then mixing them with the berries a bit more so that the flavor of the berries and the bananas combined rather than being in layers.  I'm going to try it that way next time and see which method we prefer.  If you try it before I do, please let me know your thoughts. I do think that the caramelizing step is very important to the final outcome of this recipe. 

      Of course, you can't serve a crumble without a scoop of ice cream on top.  We were out of vanilla and used Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, lol.  I think vanilla would have been better! 

If you loved this post, you may enjoy these as well:

• Renny's Easy Peach Cobbler
• Essie's Cobbler with Peaches and Blackberries
• Blueberry Dump Cake in a Crockpot

Hello! It's Lindsey, back with a delicious pizza recipe. It's no secret that we love a good pizza here at 3 Winks Design. We love it so much that when Alicia was pregnant with her daughter she announced it with pizza here (look at that cute little boy who just turned eight!)

A few weeks back I was craving spinach and artichoke dip. I had also promised my daughter we would have pizza and movie night, and from those two things came this delicious spinach and artichoke pizza!

As with all things pizza, you need to have a good crust to get your pizza started off right. We have provided several great pizza crust recipes for you!

In this pizza pot pie post we shared our simple go to pizza crust recipe which is great to use when you don't have a lot of time.

In this three easy ways to improve pizza night post, Alicia shared her favorite pizza crust recipe, which can be found here.

​If you need a gluten free pizza crust option, I shared a great cauliflower pizza crust recipe in this post

Once you have your pizza crust recipe picked, and your pizza crust prepped stretch it out over your pizza pan, or if you use a pizza stone, spread it on a piece of parchment paper while you heat your stone in the oven. Sprinkle the crust with a little salt and pepper, and some garlic.

Place the spinach in a heated pan to wilt it. Then place it on a paper towel as you make the rest of the recipe.
Melt the butter in a sauce pan and whisk in the cornstarch and onion powder.  
Then pour in the milk and stir until thick. Once thickened remove from heat and add in the spinach. Spread the sauce over your crust and then add the chopped artichokes and the mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Pop your pizza in the oven (don't forget if using a pizza stone to slide your crust onto the stone off the parchment paper and then into the oven) until golden brown, about 16-20 minutes.

I seriously chowed down on this pizza and sometimes I still think about it. So I'll probably be making it again soon! You can make it now!

    I've written you about my youngest son Jacob a few times.   I told you when he became an Eagle Scout here and here. 
     I told you about when he was called to be a missionary in Africa, here. 
     It is hard to believe that he has been home from that 2 year mission for 3 years now.  He has also been serving in the National Guard during that 3 years, as well as going to school and working another job.  But, he was recently sent away on a year long deployment, so we are back to long distance communication.  
      When he was on his mission, it was very expensive to send him care packages and knowing that he had to move around a lot, we couldn't send very many things that he would have to carry around with him.  Now that he is deployed, the situation is much the same, but he has even less room in his luggage for unnecessary items.   So, everything that we send him needs to be consumable. 

     Jacob recently had a birthday, so I started racking my brain about what I could send him to help him have a happy day and let him know that we are thinking of him.  He was happy with what I sent, and I also spoke to him about what his suggestions would be for care packages in the future.  I thought that I would share some ideas for those of you who find yourselves in this situation.  Also, I am including a free printable of labels with jokes that you can attach to the items you include to lighten their spirits a bit more. 

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    We can't get through February without recognizing that it is National Cherry Month!  It goes hand in hand with President's Day, right?  (You know, the old story about George Washington and his father's cherry tree?)  We have shared lots of great cherry recipes with you in the past which I will link to below, but rather than do a new round-up of those, I thought that this year deserved a totally new recipe that we've never done before.  

     I remember as a teenager going to IHOP  and ordering Cherry Cheese Blintzes.  They were all the rage and so good!  There is just something great about cream cheese and cherries mixed together.  (Think Cherry Cheesecake!)  For some reason that memory came back to me recently and I decided to make some and share them with you for this year's cherry feature! 

      The filling is a mixture of ricotta and cream cheese, with a little sugar and vanilla.  You could add a bit of lemon or orange zest if you would like, but I did not. 
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    I used the store brand of canned tart sweet cherries for this recipe.  The store brand was about a third of the price of the name brand, so that was a good deal to me.  You could also use frozen or fresh cherries, but you would have to simmer them a bit longer to soften them.  I sweetened the cherries a bit and added just a hint of cinnamon, which is not overpowering but adds such a richness to the flavor. I think the cinnamon is the reason I didn't add the citrus to the filling.  I decided to pick one surprise flavor so everything wouldn't get muddled.   

     Making the crepes themselves is probably the trickiest part if you have never done it, (or even if you have!)  I always mess up the first two.  I have to get the heat just right and the seasoning of the crepe pan needs to help you out so that the crepes don't stick.  With a little practice, it can be done.  Don't forget to chill the batter before making the crepes. 

    If you give these a try, let us know what you think!  My husband and I ate them warm from the oven.  1 was plenty, they are pretty rich.  But, I think chilled in the fridge with warm cherries would be great as well.  
     The recipe made plenty of cherry sauce, and I'm thinking it will be terrific on ice cream! 

Here are some of our past cherry posts! 

• ​Black Forest Cake
• The Best Cherry Recipes
• Creamy Cherry Limeade
• Cherry 7up Pancakes
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