Banana Oat Walnut Pancakes

 We just returned from vacation on St. Simons Island in Georgia leaving behind 80 degree temperatures to return to Chicago where the high today was 50.  (Insert sad face here)  While on vacation, we pretty much threw our restricted diet aside for at least one meal a day and on our last morning treated ourselves to a wonderful breakfast at Palmer's Village Cafe, a place you must stop if ever in that area. I had this GIGANTIC stack of Blueberry Oat Pecan Pancakes (well, I ate one and hubby had one and we had to leave one behind!).  I thought I'd TRY recreating them at home so here is my attempt:  Banana Oat Walnut Pancakes.

 I went with the bananas because blueberries are not in season here any longer and frozen ones would not do the trick for me.  To duplicate the texture of the originals, I'm guessing I'd have to add even more oats than I did but really, I'm pretty happy with the way these turned out!  And best of all . . . they are fat free!  This is a 'take' on my standard fat free pancake recipe that everyone loves and can't believe they're fat free.

 I do plan to try these with fresh blueberries at some point but for now, these will certainly do.  Here are both recipes . . . enjoy!

Simple, Healthy & Delicious Pancakes

3/4 c regular flour, 3/4 c whole wheat flour, 2 T sugar, 1 T baking powder, 1/2 t salt, 1 1/4 c skim milk, 1/4 c fat free plain yogurt, 1/2 c egg substitute, 1 t vanilla

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt.  In separate bowl combine yogurt, milk, egg substitute and vanilla.  Add to dry mixture just until combined.  Cook on nonstick pan that you spray with cooking spray.  

Healthy Banana Walnut Oat Pancakes

3/4 c regular flour, 3/4 c whole wheat flour, 2 c oats (not quick style), 2 T sugar, 1 T baking powder, 1/2 t salt, 1 1/4 c skim milk, 1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt, 1/2 c egg substitute, 1 t vanilla, 1 large banana finely diced (not mashed), 1/2 c diced walnuts, 1/2 t ground nutmeg, 1/2 t cinnamon

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  In separate bowl combine yogurt, milk, egg substitute, vanilla, diced bananas and walnuts.  Add to dry mixture just until combined.  Cook on nonstick pan that you spray with cooking spray.

Fall in the Bay . . . Window that is

 Time to dress up the bay window.  Knowing how I love book pages, it's not surprising to find them here!  Just went online to get some drawings of leaf shapes and cut them out of various shades of book pages to scatter them in the window seat.  The open book is a 1944 copy of Edna St. Vincent Millay's  poems so I found one about Autumn and opened it to that page.

The stone frame was a garage sale find so I inserted a photo I'd taken last fall that fits with the color scheme.

I'm finding never-ending uses for these letters I purchased from Jill at Bella Rosa Antiques.  Check her out -- she has so many beautiful and unusual antiques in her online store.

 So I'm finally in the 'swing' of fall and still 'tweaking' my mantle and other areas in my house but getting there!  Have a wonderful "Autumn" day!

Signs of Fall . . . I Surrender

 I surrender.  That's what it feels like when I give in and turn on the furnace while putting on a pair of slippers . . . I'm admitting that summer is over and that makes me kinda sad because summer is my favorite season.  But in the spirit of the first day of autumn, I decided to try a new chili recipe that my boss gave me . . . BEST chili I've ever had in my life!  (Recipe below)

Pumpkins, Acorns & Leaves . . . Oh My!

I found these fun fillers from a wonderful Etsy Shop called Ninna's Attic.  She makes these adorable leaves and acorns as well as pumpkins and more!  Don't wait too long to check her out though -- they go fast!  I missed out on pumpkins and plan to go back for some of those myself.

Vintage Frenchy Note Cards

After getting my stamping room cleaned up I felt motivated to actually STAMP again (it's been awhile!).  With no real, clear plan I just began gathering materials around me and putting some note cards together.  Here's what I came up with: