oh Banana Bread...how i've missed you! actually let's be honest, i miss any kind of bread. whenever i do extreme low carb dieting, i tend to miss the following: tortilla chips, ritz crackers, and banana bread. and why i'm torturing myself with posting this recipe, i don't know. and yes, it feels like this is turning into a recipe blog...but trust me, i'll entertain you with more than just fattening foods! (although this is what i do best...)

Shannon's Amazing Banana Bread

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
3-4 over ripe bananas
2 tsp imitation vanilla
2/3 cup sour cream
2 2/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Nuts (optional...pecans or walnuts are best)

Preheat oven to 325. Cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time. Add in bananas (if using a stand mixer, just throw them in, if using a hand mixer, you might want to smash them first). Add in vanilla. Take dry ingredients and sift together. Add about 1/2 of the dry ingredients and mix well. Add in sour cream and mix well. Finally, add in last of dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into 2 pre-greased, AND pre-floured bread pans. Cook for 45-60 minutes, depending on your oven. best banana bread you'll ever eat. the secret is in the cinnamon and sour cream. if the tops of your bread seem to brown easily (like mine do) put some foil lightly over the top of the bread for the last 15 minutes.

Grandma B's Sugar Cookies

as a little girl, i grew up in southern california. we'd spend a week or two during the summer at my grandma b's house in spanish fork. i have a bunch of great memories from these times at her house, which all involved eating, of course. eating captain crunch while watching "price is right", getting fish and chips from Glade's Drive Inn (which still has the best fish and chips), and of course munching on her sugar cookies with the pink frosting.

i was home sick yesterday and for some reason, when i'm sick...i love to bake. granny b's sugar cookies were the result yesterday! here's her recipe:

Granny B's Sugar Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon extract

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp baking soda

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

5 cups flour

Preheat oven to 400. FIRST: take the cup of sour cream and mix with the baking soda. Set aside. Cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time. Add in lemon and vanilla extracts. Sift together the salt, baking powder and flour. Add in a little at a time, alternating with sour cream mixture (which will be light and fluffy and HUGE). Once it's all combined, remove from mixer and wrap in saran wrap. Chill for 4-5 hours until firm. Roll out dough with extra flour, and bake for 4-5 minutes until the bottoms are BARELY tan.

TIPS: I roll out my dough pretty thick, about 1/2 inch thick. And I cook mine for about 4 1/2 minutes. They will be big and soft!

Almond Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting (not granny's recipe, but my own)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3-4 cups powdered sugar

4 oz. cream cheese

1 1/2 tsp imitation almond flavoring

2-3 TBSP heavy cream

Whip butter until light and fluffy, add in 2 cups of powdered sugar until fully mixed. Add in cream cheese and almond flavoring. Continue to mix in 1-2 more cups of powdered sugar slowly, watching your consistency (you don't have to add in all of it, just as much as you want). Add in heavy cream to thin it out to perfection! Frost and enjoy with sugar cookies!

World Famous

okay...so maybe not WORLD famous, but you get my drift. i get weekly requests for my cookie recipe. and i'll boast...it's incredible. my own recipe. i tweaked, changed, and flubbed this recipe for over a year to make it perfection. so here you go...

shannon petersen's world famous chocolate chip cookies...

• 2 sticks UNSALTED butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, room temp
• 2 tsp IMITATION vanilla (i've tried the pure stuff, doesn't taste good to me)
• 3 heaping cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt (kosher salt is good too!)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 bag of SEMI SWEET (or bittersweet if you're like me) Chocolate Chips (and another trick, i found the Guittard brand melts the best. if you can AVOID using Hershey brand chocolate chips. and don't EVER use milk chocolate. sorry, it tastes gross)

Preheat to 375. Cream the sugars and butter together until very light and fluffy. Add in 1 egg at a time while mixer is on low. Add in vanilla. Next add in dry ingredients. I do it 1 cup at a time, and on the 2nd cup, i add in the soda, salt, and powder. When everything is mixed, and you taste it of course, hand FOLD in the chocolate chips. Bake for 5-6 minutes, depending on your oven. Mine takes exactly 5 minutes and 45 seconds. And if you've had the pleasure of personally eating my cookies, you know i ALWAYS burn a batch. USE A TIMER! :)

i'll post my banana bread recipe next...it's just as incredible!

crazy C

since i did a post about "e", i thought i'd follow up a post about collin. he's crazy. it seems like he's at the age where he has a hard time smiling for the camera. he'd rather just be silly. he's smart as a whip, and this kid knows his number and alphabet as good as any 2nd grader. he's sensitive like his mom...he feels bad when someone has their feelings hurt or gets physically hurt. he's a great debater, and loves to make "deals" with me. he constantly asks, "mom, what's more important?" and then poses 2 different questions:

for example: "mom, what's more important? helping me play club penguin or cooking dinner?" he expects me to say helping him play is computer game...which is so funny when my answer ism't what he expects.

we recently acquired a Wii from a very sweet friend of mine. he gave us his Wii for free since he figured we'd use it more than he would. collin is on cloud 9. i was planning on getting one for Easter since I get a bonus at work come May. he loves to create Mii's for everyone he knows, play Super Mario Bros. and show me all the "cool" things he can do. i've been very diligent in tracking his time on the Wii, i don't want him to become one of those kids that just play video games. there is too much world to explore to be inside all day long. thankfully, spring is almost here. my tulips are coming up, the garden is getting tilled, and i'm ready for some warmth!

silly E

sometimes when i get home from work, e is in a really silly mood. sarah (her babysitter) did her hair so darn cute yeterday, and she was so happy to see me, i broke out the camera. my external flash is broken, so i tried a little sunlight and i think they turned out cute. at 2 years and 2 months, this little girl has SO MUCH personality and spunk. she's so opinionated and wants to be independent in everything she does. she loves her brother and they enjoy playing "kitty and dog" together quite frequently!

the salt flats...

last saturday we headed out to the salt flats to take some family photos. we thought it might be a 1 1/2 hour drive...but apparently it's about 2 1/2 hours! i thought it was well worth the drive and the photos. we got to wendover around 1pm and ate lunch and then headed out to do pics. eden was beyond tired since it was right at her nap time. she was a stinker and didn't really cooperate for any photos...(shocker). but i love the ones we did get. john is still editing most of them, so here are a few that have been touched up so far!

that place is amazing. miles and miles of dried up salt that looks white as snow, but is hard as sand. there were areas that hadn't dried up completely yet, so we plan on heading back sometime in august when they are racing out there and the flats are completely dry.

even though the drive was long for the kids, i think they had fun. i am planning on doing a fun activity with them every other saturday. i've lived here for 16 years now and have yet to enjoy and explore the state! i've never been to Moab, Canyonlands, Arches, Kennecott Mine, Timp Cave, Goblin Valley, Capitol Reef, Escalante, Vernal Dinosaur Museum, and on and on! it is going to take a lot of driving and a few over-nighters, but i want to have a fun summer with the kids exploring this great state!

yeah, another kid update

yeah, i'm kind of obsessed with my kids. this was yesterday before church. i had worked all week on making this skirt for eden, and she LOVED it. she was twirling around all morning with her purse. i made sure to get ready early so we could go outside and take some photos. she wouldn't cooperate very well, we have church during her naptime, but i think i got a few that i adore. collin was still inside getting ready, so i didn't get many of him...but i'll be taking more as the weather gets warmer.

speaking of...we had snow today, grrrr. the weekend was so pleasant, and then rain and snow today. at least we know that it's on it's way out...not the other way around. collin is so ready to play outside and plant his garden. we are spending lots of time talking about what we are going to plant. i love that he's so involved in gardening and cooking...although some talk of football and basketball wouldn't hurt the kid either... :) at least i know he'll be self-sufficient and sensitive, kinda like his mom.

my friend john...

i've had a few requests to see a photo of john...we've been dating for 4 months and he's pretty great with me and with the kids. he's mellow, hard working, fixes and organizes everything in my house, and he's an amazing cook. he comes from a family of all girls, so he gets me.

no jumping the gun...we are enjoying the "getting to know you" process.

so don't ask "that" question.

we've had a fun 4 months of dates, games, movies, dinners, and spending most of our time together with the kids. it's kind of hard where we both work full time, and the only "free" time i really have is at night when i'm home from work. and that's reserved for c & e. dating with kids is a lot harder than i thought, and definitely takes someone who doesn't mind that my kids come first. john has been so understanding and realizes that they're my priority. so i guess we will see what the next 4 months have in store for us.

whether we end up together or not, i'm grateful to have met him.

kiddo's

i love these kids...they make me laugh so hard sometimes. this little one especially. i've put her into a big girl bed, and i'm now re-considering this decision. last night she was up 4 times, looking for her binkie, her sippy, or her blankie. the night before, it was 7 times. she wanted to sing and tell stories and giggle. we might go back to the crib tonight.

and this big guy...he's getting to smart for his own good. he's been reading like crazy, is in love with his new soccer jacket, and is so ready for spring to come. he wants to plant his garden and play in the field. i think we're all ready for the snow to be gone until next winter!