How many times do you look at a cooking/recipe site or food blog and think, “That looks great, but who has time to cook? Let alone make a meal that looks like that?” Your other responsibilities that take up your time, kids, work, house, pets, just to name a few. Making a picture-perfect meal is a great dream, but there is just not enough time in the day.
I hear you… I totally understand. Hi, I’m Leah and welcome to my tiny corner of the internet, where I wipe up simple meals for everyday life.
I am a mama-taught, self-taught home cook. Even though I always had a passion for food, cooking didn’t become a big part of my life until I discovered I had food allergies. I really enjoyed cooking. My kitchen became my happy place. However, I was a college student with 2 jobs plus helping my sister raise her kids… finding time to cook was a struggle.
Fast forward almost 20 years, a husband and 2 kids later. The struggle to find time to cook is still there. Between school activities, sports, homework, therapy (one kid has apraxia of speech, the other has High Functioning Autism). From my marketing job, running this blog, our dogs, the garden, and the house, most days, I feel I am juggling way too much. Who has time to cook?
The truth is, we are all capable of making simple meals even during our busy seasons.
That is why I started the Messy Cutting Board food blog. Whether it is recreating meals from weekend leftovers or simple prep one pan or one sheet meal. Or slow cooker or instant pot meals. MCB’s goal is to go from who has time to cook to, yes, I made this damn good meal and still had time to enjoy a glass of wine (or a cup of tea).
Get to Know Messy Cutting Board’s
Messy Cutting Board was not always the blog’s name. Back in 2012, I started a blog on blogger called “Little Mama Lulu Cooks.” It was just a way for me to share recipes with family and friends across the country.
I had no clue what I was doing. The photos were dark, and the food was not staged at all. Marketing what is that and writing recipes… let’s just say it is much harder than it looks.
Then in 2017, I launched Messy Cutting Board with the same state of mind of just sharing recipes, no niche, no real focus except, “Hey, look what I made.”
It wasn’t until the pandemic when my life, along with the pace of the world, slowed down I had an ah uh moment. Most of my recipes are built around my crazy working mom’s life. My niche is not the love of food and cooking. It’s a passion for food and finds ways to make incredible dishes/meals in a time crunch.
I knew a lot of moms struggle with finding time to make meals their families would enjoy. From simple meal planning to tips and tricks to help save time and money. And, of course, recipes!
Get to Know Leah and the Family
Leah was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota as a military kid. Growing up, she moved around a lot. In 1997 she moved to the place she calls home, the beautiful state of Colorado.
She met Greg in middle school but couldn’t stand him but, years change, and people grow. They ended up falling in love, got married, and have 2 beautiful children.
Since being married, they have moved around the country. From Colorado to Wyoming, down to Texas, and finally found their home in Burlington, Colorado.
Leah has had a few daytime careers outside this blog. She was an expanded duty dental assistant for 12 years and now works remotely as a marketing assistant.
Jane is her oldest. She is sassy and sweet. At a young age, Jane struggled with respiratory problems. Jane eventually outgrows her respiratory issues. Then she got diagnosed with High Functioning Autism, formally known as Asperger’s syndrome. But through it all, Jane has taught her family and friends the power of positivity and perseverance. Her favorite things are science, art, and basketball.
Eli is the baby of the family. He is their rough and tumbles, rambunctious, lovable teddy bear. They noticed he had a delay of speech issues and later found out it was apraxia of speech. Despite the struggles to communicate, he finds joy in everything he does. Some of his favorite things to do are playing baseball, football, pokemon, and any video game daddy and sissy like.
As a family, they love anything outdoors during the summer. Whether it be a weekend roughing it camping and fishing or just a fun night cooking out and enjoying the night sky. During the winter, they love builds snowmen, going sledding, or being curled up with a good book or movie and hot cocoa.
“We only get our kids for so long before they grow up and venture out on their own. Why chase the dollars when you can chase the days together?”
