Took time to smell the flowers today...

We went to New Bern, NC, today.  We visited Tryon Palace.  If you're local, you may like to know that they currently open up the gardens FREE on the first Sunday of each month.  We took LOTS of pictures, and here are just a few.  I love North Carolina, and how green it is most of the year.

Hope you can appreciate some of these beautiful pictures!

Have a wonderful Labor Day, and muffin tin ideas are next, I promise I've been working on that!  Also coming soon, a series of lunchbox pictures.

I need a new use for my ...

Do you have something that you need a new use for?  Do you have a creative use for something that is unusual?  Please share!  Just leave a comment on this post.  Maybe I can help come up with some fun ideas...

Coming soon, new uses for your muffin tins.  They're not just for muffins and cupcakes anymore!

Banana Nut Pancakes and Banana Maple Syrup

I made breakfast for dinner one night this week.  I wanted something simple that night.  I started with Hodgson Mill's Whole Wheat Pancake Mix, which I picked up at The Fresh Market.  I had not ever tried that pancake mix before, but it looked good, and the ingredient list was simple and trans fat free.  I have to say, it was delicious and hearty.  I really liked the texture of this mix.

I made the mix per the box instructions for 12-14 pancakes.  I then added 1/8 cup chopped walnuts and 1 banana, chopped into small pieces.  My girls don't love nuts at their age, so I chopped the nuts pretty finely.  I then made the pancakes on the griddle as I normally would.  I will say, it only made 10 pancakes (and I don't feel like I made them that big).  But they were nice and fluffy, and because they were so hearty, 10 was more than enough for our family of 4.

For the syrup, I (again) wanted to try something different that wasn't pure sugar, something with some nutritional benefit.  So I went with the theme of the banana again.  Bananas are so inexpensive right now.  I buy a huge bag of them at Sam's Club, and they're only about $1/bag right now.

Banana Maple Syrup (for 4)

3/4 cup PURE maple syrup
3 bananas, mashed completely with a fork
1-2 Tbsp orange juice

Mix all together.   Warm if desired.
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Because it's never enough, I served fresh raspberries on the side.  Yum!