In the Kitchen: Banana Bread

My current favorite banana bread recipe.



Jen Wilde's Grandma's Banana Bread
3 TBSP butter softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup milk + 1 TBSP vinegar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 mashed bananas
1 TBSP lemon juice

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and milk/vinegar mixture. mix dry ingredients and add alternately with bananas to sugar/ egg mix. Add lemon juice. Bake in floured loaf pan in 350 oven for 50-55 minutes.

I always add in a half cup of oatmeal and one half cup of coconut.

10 on Tuesday

1. Did you know I hate competition? I think it only applies in sports (and not at any crazy level there - HATE that) and games (and even then only a very small level of it). I think it is such a waste of time and energy and good will to constantly compare and compete. Competition in our lives in other areas robs us of self worth and can consume us and create unkind feelings and actions to others. Life is just too short for all that nonsense.

2. I love love love love LOVE my dinner club. (Did I mention I love it?)

3. Is this not the cutest sound?


4. Alden has been asking me for quite some time if he could read Harry Potter and finally I told him he could read the first book if he wanted. He started that instant.


5. Last week while school was out Alden wanted (and got) to play the wii TOO much. So on one day I wrote a list of random things and then put them all into a container and he picked them out and had to build them out of lego. This is his temple. It had an angel Moroni but someone took it off.


6. Grandma came over to visit. And Oliver likes to follow his mom wherever she goes. And apparently Eli likes to eat his toes.


7. This kid was in DIRE need of a hair cut. My friend Rebecca came over and did it.... and Eli wasn't such a fan (as usual)


8. It SNOWED and looks all pretty now.

9. Our new van is AWESOME!! It's a 2012 Honda Odessey. Did I already tell you that? Can't remember. I need to take a picture of it! Tomorrow (maybe)

10. I baked a LOT of stuff over the past week. And sadly now I want brownies. These ones to be exact. I made them at Christmas and I *might* still be dreaming of them. I wonder if I can still find some candy canes.....

Grandma knows best

This is me and my Grandma Stasiuk.

(Thanks to my brother Sean for taking this shot of us at my mom & dad's.)
She is my mom's mom.
She was a caterer for over 10 years.
She still loves to bake and cook.
She just turned 89.
She lives with my parents.
She had a bakery in her kitchen for about 40 years.
She has five kids, twenty one grandkids, forty five great grandkids and four great great grandkids.
She is very kind and sweet.
She loves with food and hugs.
Every time I find some recipe I think is cool to try, I call Grandma and she says "yep, i've done that before too"
A year ago I started a project that she had dreamed of for years.
And now it's all done and printed.

It's a bunch of recipes she loves.
Lots she's made up.
I've used lots of them even before the book when I phone grandma and say I am doing this for this and I was kind of thinking of something that has these ingredients, does that exist and how to I make it and she always has the answers.
I love having her close and seeing her way more often!
And yes, I think my love of cooking came straight down the generations and hit me square in the face.
I had no chance :)

Spiritual Sundays

“All the other cardinal virtues—love, patience, humility, mercy, purity, submissiveness, justice—they all require endurance for their full development.”
- Neal A. Maxwell, GC Apr 1990

Foto Friday: Our Year in Photos

Month 2 Week 4: Family Time.

For the fourth week of each month we'll focus on details.

To know more about this project you can read my first post here.

I picked to focus on ping pong. As that is something that our family loves to play lately (since Christmas when we GOT the table). It is something the kids are learning to play (well only Alden and Lucy) and I am still learning too.




And Lucy trying to play....



You can see all my other entries for this project here

Go check out Brooke's over here!

Please tell me if you have a link somewhere for playing along and I'll add the links.

10 on Tuesday

1. A few pictures from the baby blessing last weekend.





2. And I set up a little "studio" in my basement for a newborn shoot and thought I needed someone else to try it on, so Whit was nice enough to bring Oscar over. And it worked out good since it was his 1 year old birthday this past week.


3. We tried moving Eli downstairs with Alden just for the night to give it a try. It did NOT work out.


4. These are so seriously loved boots. They started out with puppy tails (both ripped off). He wears them EVERYday. Seriously. All the time. We have to hide them so he won't wear them to church on Sundays. They are cracked and full of holes now. I need to find something worthy to replace them.


5. Oliver is SUCH a happy baby.

6. I had a fun b-day party for my SIL whit at my house a couple nights ago. I love throwing parties.

7. I love this girl. I miss living close to her SO BADLY. Glad we still can talk on the phone sometimes and text.



8. All the Steed Grandkids at the blessing. And Eli and Gavin aren't even crying in it :)


9. Last night Regan was on call (well Sat and Sun) and sometimes the hospital calling me wakes me up totally and sometimes I sleep right through it.

10. That's about all I have to say.

Pinterest Finds

I love pining things. And I am assuming you do too! Some things lately that I've pinned and made or have plans to do shortly.


Super rich, moist banana bread

Smitten Christmas Paper (I used some of this on my new blog header!)

Escape the Volcano Game

Key Lime Cupcakes

Pork Tenderloin

Valentine's Ginger Crinkles

How about you? Done anything off pinterest lately??

Spiritual Sundays

Look who tried solid foods this week....







"Female roles did not begin on earth, and they do not end here. A woman who treasures motherhood on earth will treasure motherhood in the world to come, and “where [her] treasure is, there will [her] heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). By developing a mother heart, each girl and woman prepares for her divine, eternal mission of motherhood. “Whatever principle of intelligence [she] attain[s] unto in this life, it will rise with [her] in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through [her] diligence and obedience than another, [she] will have so much the advantage in the world to come” (D&C 130:18–19)." - Julie B. Beck

Foto Fridays: Our Year in Photos

Month 2 Week 3: Valentine's day.

For the third week of each month we'll focus on time of day or season.

To know more about this project you can read my first post here.

When I was a little girl my Dad ALWAYS got me something on Valentine's day. And it was a big deal to me. That was the only day it was actually my dad that did it for me and Kelly. And I convinced Regan early on I thought it would be sweet if he did that for Lucy and he has taken that completely to heart and does it every year. This year Lucy it was a stuffed ape in a hot chocolate mug. She loved it (as you can see).


The Valentine's the kids took to school inspired by these talented ladies over here. We did book paper circles and the kids wrote on the hearts.


And we had a candle light dinner. Which they thought was GREAT. And we had red spaghetti for dinner. (Well that's what I called it but only the SAUCE was red. hahaha)




You can see all my other entries for this project here

Go check out Brooke's over here!

Please tell me if you have a link somewhere for playing along and I'll add the links.

15 on the 15th

A couple days ago it was the 15th. I'm doing a project this year taking 15 pictures on the 15th of each month.
You can see the other months here.















That's how my Tuesday looked this week.