Make-It Monday: Simple Beaded Earrings Tutorial

Well, as you may have heard about in Saturday's post, I'm not really able to hobble around in the kitchen making food and taking pictures of it. So this was the perfect opportunity to finally do a jewelry tutorial post for you guys--since it can be done sitting down. ;) (You know, leg wrapped up, propped up, with ice on it all the while...)

A regular customer of mine recently requested a simple, silver and cobalt beaded necklace. Here's what I came up with:

And she loved it. :) But she also wanted some very simple clip-on earrings to match, with just one dangling bead. So I wanted to show you guys how to make these simple earrings.

It really is easy, and gets even easier the more you do it--the hardest part was definitely attempting to get good pictures of what I was doing. I tried, y'all!

You'll need:

Notes:

• My pliers are 3-in-1: round-nose, "flat-nose," and a wire cutter farther in. (Can you see those?) So if you just have round-nose pliers, you can use nail clippers to cut the wire instead. (This resource will tell you everything you need to know about pliers.)
• This tutorial works for any kind of earring hooks.
• You can get any of these supplies at any craft store or on Etsy.

How to do it:

1- Thread a headpin through one of the beads and trim it to about 3/8" sticking out of the bead.

2- Do the same with the other headpin and bead, and eye-ball them to make sure they're the same length.

3 -5 - Grasp the end of the headpin with your pliers and bend the wire into a curve away from you--you'll want to do this bending motion while pushing back against the wire toward yourself, if that makes sense, so that you get a prettier c-shaped loop as opposed to an ugly cane-shaped loop.

6 - Slip the headpin loop through the loop in whatever type of earring hooks you're using--you may need to gently re-open the headpin loop a little bit to give it room first.

7 - Once the loop is through the earring back's hole, insert the pliers into the loop like you did when you made the loop and begin to close it.

8- Finish closing the loop by very gently clamping it shut with either flat-nose or round-nose pliers (flat works better for this, but either works).

All done!

You can stack even more beads onto each headpin for a bolder look too. The possibilities are really endless with the colors and combinations you can make. And if you're still trying to figure out what to get Mom for Mother's Day, here's an idea! Make her a couple pairs of earrings! Or you can always browse the earrings section in my Etsy shop. ;)

Don't forget there's still a couple days left to enter my giveaway!

P.S. Linking up with Funday Monday, Time to Sparkle, Do Tell Tuesday, Show Me What Ya Got, Share Your Stuff Tuesday,

Share It Link Party, Wake Up Wednesday, Wildly Original Link Party, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Mother's Day Categorically Crafting Party, All Things Thursday, and Handmade Cafe.

Make-It Monday: Honey Balsamic Chicken--Gluten-free, Dairy-free

I'm so excited to share this recipe I recently found on Pinterest! It's originally from here, but as always I made a couple of changes.

I've made this twice already in the past week, and it tastes like a special night meal or something that belongs in a restaurant. (But of course that's not gonna stop me from having it like every week. ;) Definitely one of the best recipes I've tried from Pinterest (and I've tried a good many...) and one that totally would be on my list of The Best Pinterest Recipes if I'd found it sooner.

Honey Balsamic Chicken

You'll need:
For pre-cooking:
2-4 chicken breasts, thawed
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. garlic
a pinch of salt (I use sea salt) and pepper

After marinating:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp. honey
a pinch of salt and pepper

1) Cut the chicken into roughly strips.
2) Place the chicken, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large sealable bag, shake/mix around, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3) Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium heat then place the chicken in it. The chicken will take about 10 minutes on each side. (Be very careful with the oil--it likes to pop.)

4) Once the chicken is done, remove it from the skillet, lower the heat, and add the 2 Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar to the pan. (The original recipe called for butter here also, but since I can't have that and coconut butter would have given it a coconut-y taste I didn't want, I left it out, and it was perfectly delicious without it.) Stir the balsamic vinegar around the pan to dissolve the leftover gristle and such.
5) Raise the heat back to medium and add the honey and let it simmer into a bubbly glaze for 3-5 minutes. Add the salt and pepper to the glaze, return the chicken to the pan, and stir around to coat.

I served this with brown minute rice and broccoli steamed in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic (which I now know is better fried and not steamed--just a tip). Oh and grapes. Of course!

Not only is this dish tasty, it's healthy! :D Gluten-free and dairy-free as always. Enjoy, and let me know how you like it!

P.S. Linking up with Funday Monday and Musings of a Housewife and Sassy Moms in the City's Real Food Recipe Roundup, Do Tell Tuesday, Time to Sparkle, Good Tips Tuesday, Show Me What Ya Got, Share Your Stuff Tuesday, Delicious Dish Tuesday, Share It Link Party, Pretty Wednesday, What We Eat Wednesday, Wildly Original Party, Wake Up Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday, and All Things Thursday.

Make-It Monday: Cauliflower Popcorn

Well I am just stoked to announce that today is my last day of having to go without meat for a week. So I know there are these people called “vegetarians.” Yeah, how do you all live like that exactly? Holy cow. (Ha ha, I so did not plan that pun…)

I’m on the detox stage of the last part of my gut repair diet (which normally takes a body about two months, while I’m nearing my six month mark…) and this phase requires no meat. Y’all, I’m already gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, nut-free, and corn-free and also not allowed to have potatoes, apples, peaches, pineapple, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, and any chocolate besides this kind. Among more that’s just too hard to list. And I can only have turkey and chicken for meat. I can, however, now have rice, something I was recently allowed to reintroduce, and I am living on it. (Did you know brown rice seasoned with just salt and pepper is really good? Made that discovery this week.)

All that to say, you better believe I’ve had tomorrow’s dinner planned for days—and you know it’s chicken!

But first I have to get through today. So I wanted to share a recipe that has helped me get through this week of deprivation. (Though trust me, you’ll like it regardless of whether you’re on any sort of diet.) I found it here originally, which I probably found through handy dandy Pinterest.

Cauliflower Popcorn 

(with a bonus variation below)

You'll need:

Chopped up cauliflower (however much you want--about 1/4 of a head is pictured, though I usually do a whole head)

2-4 Tbsp. olive oil (depending on the amount of cauliflower)

about 1 tsp. salt (I use sea salt; amount also depends on how much you're making)

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2) Mix the cauliflower in a bowl with the olive oil and salt to coat the pieces.

3) Spread the pieces out on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Why yes, there is indeed broccoli in that picture. We'll get there.

4) Bake for 30-45 minutes depending on how crispy you want the cauliflower. I aim for longer rather than shorter.

Nice and crispy... The black part's the best part.

Now, you can also try this with broccoli!

This was my first time at the broccoli attempt, and I did do those a little too long. While I think the cauliflower needs to go a good 40 minutes or more, the broccoli probably should have gone about 30.

But it was still pretty tasty! Enjoy!

This recipe was featured by Coping with Frugality for Delicious Dish Tuesday and by Vintage Zest for Do Tell Tuesday! :D

P.S. Linking up with Funday Monday, Musings of a Housewife and Sassy Moms in the City's Real Food Recipe Roundup, Create Link Inspire, Share Your Stuff Tuesdays, Show Me What Ya Got, Good Tips Tuesday, Time to Sparkle, Do Tell Tuesday, Delicious Dish Tuesday,Whatever Goes Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesdays, What We Eat Wednesday, Wildly Original Party, Pretty Wednesday, Wellness Wednesday, and All Things Thursday.

Make-It Monday: Chicken and Grape Lettuce Wraps with Curry Sauce--Gluten-free, Dairy-free

I hope you all had a loverly weekend! I got to do some running around with my husband, a rare occurrence for this energy-depleted body of mine. But the fun included some Cara Box shopping which I thoroughly enjoyed. :D

Now it's time for some more food! This Make-It Monday I want to share a recipe I dreamed up that has been yet another reliable dish during my special diet over the past few months. But of course, I highly recommend it even if you're not looking to eat gluten-free just because it's healthy and yummy!

The chicken seasonings with grapes were inspired by this recipe, and the curry sauce was inspired by this recipe, though I may be the only one who sees much similarity. ;)

Chicken and Grape Lettuce Wraps with Curry Sauce

For the chicken you'll need:
2-6 thawed chicken breasts (I like to make a bunch at once for lots of leftovers; these wraps will only use about 2 though)
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. garlic
sea salt to taste

For the curry sauce you'll need:
1 can coconut milk (you'll use the whole can, unrefrigerated--the thick part and the watery part together)
about 4 tsp. lemon juice
about 3 1/2 tsp. maple syrup (grade B or A)
about 3/4 tsp. curry powder
about 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
a couple pinches of sea salt
(note that for each of these, I say about because you can adjust the measurements to how you like it--I like lots of all of them, but you may like less curry powder and more garlic, for example)

For the wraps you'll need: 
two large lettuce leaves
about 1/2 cup sliced grapes
chicken as cooked below and then cut up
curry sauce as made below

The chicken:
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2) Mix the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, and salt in a small bowl
3) Place each breast in the mixture one at a time with a fork and flip over to coat (this way you never have to touch the raw chicken--big fan of that ;).
4) Line a baking dish with foil and place the coated chicken breasts in the pan. Pour any leftover sauce on the chicken.
5) Bake for 40 minutes, or until no pink is left.

The curry sauce:
Mix all the curry sauce ingredients in a bowl. Just using a spoon or fork is sufficient. If you want it cooled off a bit, you can just put it in the freezer for a couple minutes, or if you prefer it warm, you can heat it in the microwave for a few seconds.

It looks a little solid because I put it in the freezer briefly, but it's not.

The wraps:
Once the chicken is done and cooled a bit, cut it into smaller pieces. Place the chicken pieces on the lettuce leaves, then top them with the grapes and curry sauce, and wrap them up!

And yes, I always have two. :) When there's no gluten, you can eat a lot more! ;)

It's a lot easier than it sounds. The hardest part is remembering to thaw the chicken ahead of time. ;) Enjoy!

P.S. Linking up with Molly and Carly for Funday Monday,

with Mary and company for Delicious Dish Tuesday,

 with Anyonita for Tasty Tuesdays,

and also with Emily for Create Link Inspire, Musings of a Housewife and Sassy Moms in the City for Real Food Recipe Roundup, Homestead Bloggers Network's Tasty Tuesday, Raising the Barrs for Wellness Wednesday, Running with Spoons for Link Love, Mother's Niche for All Things Thursday, and Laugh Eat Learn for What We Eat Wednesday.

Make-It Monday: Easy Pumpkin Smoothie

Well, I know it's not exactly pumpkin season anymore. But I've reached the last stage on the repair diet I'm on and need some smoothies to mask its powdery supplement. So it's time for pumpkin just as much as it's time for strawberries for me!

I found this smoothie on Pinterest from here, but as usual made some changes.

Easy Pumpkin Smoothie

You'll need:

1 cup pumpkin (I use canned)

1 frozen banana

about 1 1/2 cups coconut milk (the cold kind that comes in a carton)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

a couple pinches of ginger

optional: vanilla to taste (the original recipe calls for vanilla protein powder; my supplement is vanilla flavored, so I use that)

1) Mix all ingredients in a blender until totally blended. That's it!

This recipe is double the original; I like to have a lot left over for my effort. :) 

The amount of milk is totally up to you depending on how smooth you want your smoothie. ;) In reality I probably use at least 2 1/2 cups. I like my smoothies runny. As you may be able to tell, the photos of the blender show it with much less milk, and the ones in the glass are after I've added much more. 

And as always, this treat is gluten-free (just check your brands!) and also dairy free! Enjoy!

P.S. Linking up with Mary again for Delicious Dish Tuesday!

Make-It Monday: the Best of Pinterest Recipes

This Make-It Monday I've been inspired by my friend Mary from Eat, Drink, and Be Mary to share my own best recipe pins!

In my couple years' relationship with Pinterest, I have managed to actually make a few of my many, many findings. Some were awful, and some were awesome. And my changing diet needs over time have really been helped by Pinterest and its endless resources! So here are the top five recipes I've discovered, tested, and loved.

1) Cheesy Honey Mustard Chicken from Plain Chicken. I am all about chicken, and cheese, and bacon bits ... so this is amazing. It is perfection served with rice, green beans or salad, and sauteed mushrooms. I actually love it so much that I shared my making of it here a while back.

Source

2) Breakfast Ham Cups from The Pub and Grub Forum. Okay, so call me crazy, but the best way to serve these, in my opinion, is for breakfast alongside cinnamon cake smothered in cream cheese icing. Oh. my. gosh. I'm talking about wake-up-craving-this-combo-it's-so-good. (I'm sorry the cinnamon cake isn't on Pinterest that I know of; I found it on Facebook a while back... Maybe I'll get to share it someday when I'm back on a normal people diet?)

Source

3) Crockpot Lemon Chicken from The Queen Bee's Hive (which page will not come up, but the instructions are in the pin). I am all about crockpot meals ... and chicken of course. And this recipe is so easy. I like to serve it with rice, salad, and orange jello with mandarin oranges in it. ;)

Source

4) Roasted Cauliflower Popcorn from Food.com. This recipe was a lifesaver when I began my special repair diet a few months ago. I know: it's cauliflower... But this is really so good. And make sure to let them get a little black on the edges--that's what makes them so good.

Source

5) Caramel Cupcakes from Foodvee. I've only gotten to make these once so far (with gluten-free flour instead of course), but they were quite delicious. I mean, caramel cupcakes. How can that be bad anyway?

Source

If you'd like to see the rest of the Pinterest recipes I've accomplished (being the organizational freak that I am, I have boards for those...) you can see them here and here. If they made it there, that also means they're worth keeping around. ;) Oh, and feel free to follow me while you're at it! :)

Have you found any recipes on Pinterest that were not only gluten-free but amazing?