Sweet Saturday Blog Hop

Happy Saturday everyone! I usually don't post on the weekends, but my friend Jessica at Healthy Mommy, Healthy Baby asked me to co-host her Sweet Saturday link party and I am excited to join her!

I am linking up my banana pancakes with honey and granola. They are the perfect weekend breakfast with your family and loved ones.

Go here to check out the recipe.

Now, onto the party!

There are just a few guidelines for this blog hop, so read up then get to linking up your posts -

1. Link up something sweet to really WOW us all - your blog, Etsy store, Pinterest, Facebook...whatever you want.

2. Link up as many posts as you'd like and please follow me and the hostess, Jessica @ Healthy Mommy, Healthy Baby. Leave us a comment if you are a new follower so we can follow you back!

3. Hop around to different links and say hi.

4. Please share the button or put a text link into the post you are sharing so others can join in the fun as well.

<a href="http://jessica-healthymommyhealthybaby.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="<" target="_blank"> />" alt="Healthy Mommy Healthy Baby" width="125" height="125" /></a>

Feathered Friend Friday

Welcome to our series "Feathered Friend Friday." Every Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here.       

The temperatures have been dipping below freezing overnight this past week, so I have to chip away the ice from the chickens' waterers each morning. And for some reason, the chickens just love to eat the ice!

I guess they think it's some sort of treat? I don't know. But they will peck away at it until they get a good sized piece and gobble it down. Crazy chickens.

They really like it when you hand feed them pieces of ice. Red swiped this one quick.

And of course, if the chickens are eating something, Duchess has to investigate.

Apparently she likes being hand fed as well. I have spoiled them rotten!

~Tammy

Shared with Backyard Farming Connection

Trimming The Tree Frugally

This year we continued our tradition of cutting down a Christmas tree from our woods (go here to see last year's tree). We had one evergreen tree in the middle of the back yard that was really out of place so David gave it the ax this year and brought it inside.

Of course it's not a perfect frasier fir, but I think that makes it all the more charming. This year's tree was quite a bit smaller than last year's so that made it easier to handle and decorate.

Last year at a local antique store we found three boxes of old ornaments for only $0.25 per box, so we snatched them up. We like to go with lots of the same ball ornaments on our tree and wanted to switch it up from the red that we normally do, so these were perfect. They were gold originally, but due to their age (maybe 15 years old?) some of the gold had rubbed off and left a nice patina effect.

I wanted to use a different tree skirt this year, too, as our white glittered skirt didn't really fit the theme I was going for. I remembered a couple of burlap bags I bought at the feed store a few months back just because I love burlap sacks and they were only $1.50 each. I tried them out on the base of the tree and decided it was a go. We normally use colorful retro bulb lights on our tree, but I wanted to go with plain white this year. I got a couple boxes of lights for only $2.50 each and strung them up to complete this year's tree.

The cats like to be around the tree (luckily they don't try to pull off the ornaments or lights) and have been smart enough to figure out how to move the burlap bags to get some drinks of the tree's water.

A couple more shots just for fun...

When added all up, the total cost of this year's tree came out to a whopping $8.75! I love a good deal, especially during the holidays.

Do you decorate your tree the same way every year, or do you like to switch it up?

~Tammy

Shared with Handmade Christmas 2013, Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop, Rural Thursday, Repurposed Ideas Weekly, Old Time Party, Lavender Garden Cottage, Barn Hop Holiday Edition, Wildcrafting Wednesday,  Farm Girl Blog Fest

Banana Pancakes

During the week I usually just grab a quick breakfast before heading out the door, but on the weekends, I like to take my time to make a big breakfast that David and I can sit down and enjoy together. Last Saturday I whipped up one of our favorites - banana pancakes.

When we were on our honeymoon in Tulum, Mexico, I had pancakes with granola and honey for the first time. I'd never tried honey or granola on pancakes before, and I loved it. Ever since then we top our pancakes with warm honey instead of maple syrup.

Banana Pancakes
from 100 Days of Real Food

Serves 4-6
*I actually cut the recipe in half since it was just for the two of us, and we still had four pancakes left over. They do freeze really well, though, so that wasn't a bad thing! Just be aware the recipe makes quite a few pancakes.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur white whole wheat flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 ¾ cups milk (I used Almond Breeze unsweetened almond milk - soy milk works as well)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted + more for frying (I used dairy-free Earth Balance spread)
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the honey, eggs, milk, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Whisk together thoroughly, but do not overmix.
2. Gently fold the mashed bananas into the batter with a spatula.
3. Heat a griddle over medium-high heat. Swirl enough butter around the pan until it is well coated. Add pancake batter using a soup ladle.
4. When the pancakes have begun to brown on the bottom, flip them over to cook the other side.

These are some delicious pancakes. They puff up nicely and are very tender and fluffy. The mashed bananas help keep the batter moist and give the pancakes a great hint of banana flavor. I highly suggest you pile them high, top them off with granola and honey, and dig in!

~Tammy

PS - Did you notice the change to the blog? I updated the header over the weekend. Let me know what you think!



Shared with Mix It Up Monday, Mop It Up Monday, Barn Hop, Show Me What You Got, Weekly Top Shot, Sunny Simple Sunday, Nature's Nurture, Tasty Tuesdays, Share It Link Party, Hearth & Soul, Tweak It Tuesday, Country Homemaker Hop, Down Home Blog Hop, Thursday Favorite Things, Home Sweet Home, Farm Girl Blog Fest, Sweet Saturday, Mop It Up Monday, Sunny Simple Sunday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop