DIY: Good as Gold ~Adorable Mint Golden Birthday Party~

I learned about golden birthdays recently. In case you don’t know, it’s when you

turn the age of the day your birthday is, so if your birthday is July 22nd your golden birthday is when you turn 22.

My daughter’s golden birthday was fast approaching so I started planning. I decided on a gold & mint theme and this is what I pulled together.  I was on a tight budget for this party so I used what I already had on hand and just spent a few dollars to make up for what I was missing. 

~Backdrop~

 Supplies needed:

 Kraft paper

 Glitter

 Elmers glue

 Sheet protector

Optional:

glitter spray paint

I found a font in Word that I liked and printed my words as large as I could on a regular 8x11 sheet. I then put that paper in a sheet protector and traced the letters with a marker directly on the sheet protector.

I removed the paper, taped the sheet protector on a clear plastic lid and stood it in front of the wall.

Next, I pinned my kraft paper up on the wall. Using the flashlight on my phone, I put the light up to the lid and projected my letters onto the wall (where my kraft paper was pinned) and adjusted it to the size I wanted. I traced the letters onto my kraft paper, took my paper down and set it on my table (or floor)and put heavy objects on the end to keep the paper from curling up. Then I traced and filled the letters in glue and sprinkled with glitter and let dry over night.

Optional: 

spray all over with glitter spray paint and let dry (it dries pretty quick… 30 min to an hour)

I made a cute tissue paper garland to add to my backdrop using

this method and also pinned individual pompoms along the sides to create a border and hung

gold balloons from the ceiling.  

I decorated a dollar store candle and jazzed up some mason jars I had on hand with Gold spray

paint and glitter.

I filled my apothecary

jars with gold wrapped chocolates & candies. (werthers candies, mini

snickers, twix, reeses pieces cups, almond kisses, rolos, and hershey nuggets) and made some macarons with

the help of this video and some cupcakes with golden Oreos on the bottom.

Birthday girl was thrilled with her party!

-Jennifer

Gluten/Dairy Free Mushroom Smothered Chicken

As you know if you've read any previous recipes, I am suffering from a nursling with a dairy sensitivity. Therefore, I have been craving nothing but creamy, cheesy, buttery foods that would be sure to lead to an evening of projectile vomiting and a very upset 8 week old. Lets not go there...

Tonight upon opening my refrigerator, I found some gorgeous mushrooms. My first thought of a rich, creamy, smothered chicken breast was immediately stifled. But I couldn't help myself.  Why can't I have a delicious meal without the dairy induced screaming? A little tweaking to my standard recipe and this little gem was born. This is a very flexible recipe, which can be adapted for many dietary needs! This one however, is gluten and of course, dairy free. Enjoy! 


Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salt, pepper, garlic powder
• 6 tablespoons coconut oil (divided)
• 3 crushed garlic cloves
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
• 5 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 14oz can chicken broth
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

Directions

• Heat 4 tablespoons coconut oil in a large pan over medium high heat.

• Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

• Place the chicken breasts in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes on each side. DO NOT OVERCOOK! Yes, yes I know. Raw chicken will kill you! I promise you that the bacteria is killed far before that chicken is dry as a bone. You should be able to cut into the breast and the juices (that's right, juices!) will run clear. 

• Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan, cover with foil and set aside. 

• Add the remaining coconut oil, shallots, garlic and mushrooms and cook until shallots are translucent and mushrooms are browned slightly. 

• Sprinkle the coconut flour over the mushrooms and stir to coat evenly. 

• Add the chicken broth slowly and let the sauce thicken, stirring constantly.  Add coconut milk and stir. 

• Return the chicken breasts back to the pan and spoon sauce over breasts. Serve over noodles, or gluten free noodles or rice for a gluten free option! 

-Shalana

Dracula's Downfall Pizza

Who doesn't like pizza, right? Cheesy, greasy deliciousness in a pan is hard to resist. Of course, there are slightly healthier alternatives out there in some restaurants with thin crust.  But what about those who have a gluten allergy? I'm not one of them personally (thank you Jesus) but the trend is sweeping America as folks are becoming more and more aware of the reason they haven't had a solid BM in years. No, I'm more along the lines of the mom who, if I can sneak veggies and protein into a meal and make it healthier, I feel the sudden urge to don a SuperMom cape and start fighting 'The Man'.

I stumbled across a pizza crust online a few months ago that called for cauliflower, cheese and eggs. I made it for my family, and it was a success! Fast forward to the present, and I now have a little nursling who has a dairy sensitivity (projectile vomit anyone?). I was visiting with my cousin who has a gluten intolerance and she was making a cauliflower pizza crust. I started dreaming longingly of pizza and was just starting to attempt to curb my drooling desires when I noticed that she wasn't adding cheese to the crust! I asked for the recipe and skipped home to try it out. The product was a deliciously healthy pizza that would put the toughest vampire into a coma, therefore I have fondly nicknamed this dish 'Draculas Downfall'. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that my toddler has watched Hotel Transylvania 8 times today. 



First, I am including some quick directions on how to roast garlic. I am baffled by the amount of folks I talk to who have never had it. The mild, buttery, nutty flavor is so amazing that I use roasted garlic in SO many dishes, and even eat cloves straight from the bulb.

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Ingredients:



Whole garlic bulbs
Olive oil

Aluminum foil



Directions:

1.Cut about 1/4" off the top of each bulb of garlic, exposing the tops of the cloves and remove the papery outer layers.

2. Drizzle a little olive oil on each bulb, using your finger to make sure each clove is coated.

3. Wrap garlic in foil, pop in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. 

When the garlic has cooled to the touch, simply take a small knife and cut the skin around each clove. Squeeze the cloves out from the bottom and enjoy! 
 

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Roasted Garlic Herb Sauce 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 bulb mashed roasted garlic (you can use as much as you like)

3 Tbsp Coconut flour (or flour of your choice, this is just what I had on hand)

3/4 cup water with a squirt of lemon juice

2 Tsp Italian Seasoning 
Salt and Pepper


Directions:



1. Heat oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add mashed garlic and flour, stirring to make a paste. 


2. When it starts to thicken slowly add liquid, whisking constantly until you reach the desired consistency (you may not use all the liquid) 


3. Remove from heat and stir in seasonings.

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For the crust 

Ingredients



2 cups cauliflower (one small one or half a large one)
1/4 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 1/4 cup Almond meal

2 eggs

Italian seasoning

Salt and Pepper



Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees

2. Combine cauliflower, onion and garlic in a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Don't overmix, you don't want to have a paste. Stir in almond meal, eggs and seasonings.

3. Form into pizza crust and bake alone for 20 minutes. I used my baking stone. 



After the crust is out of the oven, spread the sauce evenly and top! I topped mine with chicken, bacon (makes everything better) sliced roasted garlic, spinach and dairy free cheese.

 

If you're not a garlic freak like I am, you can top your crust with any kind of sauce/topping combination you desire. Tomato, basil pesto... the possibilities are endless! 



Enjoy :) 

xoxo
-S