recipe of the week: tomato rosemary focaccia

Tomato Rosemary Focaccia

{the goods}
1 tube refrigerated pizza crust **I used Pillsbury pizza dough
2 Tbl olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced **I used garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbl minced fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary crushed, divided
2-3 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced

{let's get to bakin}
Unroll pizza crust onto a greased baking sheet.  Combine the oil, garlic, salt, and half of the rosemary;  spread over crust.  Top with tomatoes and onion;  sprinkle with remaining rosemary.  Bake at 425 deg. for 12-15 minutes or until golden.  Cut into rectangles.

I served this with the prosciutto and orange salad last week.  It turned out really delicious!

{Taste of Home Appetizer}

officially open

Well I finally opened up my Etsy shop!  I'm not sure exactly what all I'm going to put in my store.  Keep checking back to see new items!  Right now I'm really interested in knitting.  Most of my items will be custom and made to order.  However, I hope to get a few more samples finished for people to see.  I'm really excited about this!  I've already had a great positive response.  Let me know what you think.  And please, start shopping!  Its never to early to put in orders for those fall birthdays!  (Everyone always loves a new scarf!) Let me know if there is something you are interested in (maybe you've seen it on Pinterest).  I can knit about anything.

happy shopping ~> http://www.etsy.com/shop/sixteensunbuckles

playground fun

how adorable is my nephew???

 

happy friday everyone!

diy: the poof

I found this lovely poof pattern via Pinterest (follow me!).  Immediately I knew it was the perfect accent for the old rocking chair in our nursery.  (Built by my husband's grandpa)  The pattern is really pretty easy and super fun.  I used this super funky Martha Stewart yarn.  It was much thicker than what the pattern called for. Positive side, I love that it held it structure.  Negative side, it held its structure too well.  I was unable to get a rounded poof.  Mine is a bit oblong.  However, like everything else in my life its not perfect and that's ok with me.

Let me know if you are interested in me making one for you!  I'd love to make this again.

recipe of the week: prosciutto and orange salad

Summer is a time for fresh food.  This light salad will be sure to fill up your appetite and its super easy.  Its a great recipe to serve as a main dish or along side a fish or grilled chicken.  You can also impress your friends by making this incredibly simple dressing.

Prosciutto and Orange Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

{the goods}
Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/2 c olive oil
1/4 c white balsamic vinegar
1 Tbl honey
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Salad
5 oz mixed baby greens
2 med avocados, pitted, peeled, and sliced
2 med navel oranges, peeled and sectioned
1/4 lb prosciutto, torn into small pieces
1/2 c chopped walnuts

{let's get to cookin}
Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl.  Place the mixed greens in a large bowl.  Add the avocados, oranges, prosciutto and walnuts, and toss with desired amount of the dressing.  Serve immediately.

I wish I had taken a picture of this!  My silly pregnant brain forgets to do these things sometimes.

From one of my favorite cookbooks, Peace Meals.

read of the week: the baby whisperer

I thought I was done with all the baby reading.  However, my wonderful new friend, Chelsea gave me two of the Baby Whisper books and pretty much told me it changed her life.  She said they worked for her and her two babies (both under the age of 2) are sleeping through the night.  On that note, why would I NOT read these books?  Especially since the doctor put me on semi bed rest for the last three weeks.  (Thus the reason my blog has been collecting spider webs lately... all I've been doing is catching up with my DVR).

So I read Secrets of the Baby Whisperer:  How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with your Baby first.  Her method is very similar to the Baby Wise Series (which I'm all for - parent direct feedings).  She establishes a routine and flexible schedule.  She introduces the E.A.S.Y. (eating, activity, sleeping, you) plan as well as the S.L.O.W. (stop, listen, observe, whats up) plan.  After reading her method its pretty much common sense.  Baby raising isn't rocket science here.  Its just about keeping a good routine and sticking to it as much as possible.  Obviously, there are good days and bad but you just have to adapt your schedule around the day.  I also love that she categorizes baby personalities into certain types.  She also explains how each type adjusts to the world around him/her and why certain things work (or don't work) for each type.

So thank you Chelsea for letting me borrow this.  I copied many pages at the library for future reference.

recipe of the week: lemon coconut cookies

I had a new friend over for lunch yesterday.  Through this pregnancy I have had quite the sweet tooth but have gotten tired of chocolate.  These little guys are just right for summer!  Light and sweet and just the right amount of coconut.  They have been moving fast through the shanks household.

Lemon Coconut Cookies
{the goods}
2/3 c shortening
1 1/2 c sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 egg beaten
1/4 c milk
2 Tbl lemon extract
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c sweetened shredded coconut
powdered sugar for dusting **i didn't add any

{lets get to bakin}
Preheat oven to 375 deg.  Cream the shortening, sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl;  mix in the egg.  Add the milk and lemon extract, stirring to combine.  In another bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and slowly stir into the sugar mixture.  Mix in the coconut and drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  Allow the cookies to cool on a rack.  Once cooled, dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with powdered sugar glaze.  For chewier cookies, remove them from the oven when the edges just begin to turn golden.

{powdered sugar glaze}  for those with a sweet tooth
2 c powdered sugar
3 Tbl milk or water
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Combine the ingredients and mix until smooth.

From the wonderful cookbook, Peace Meals.  This one has become one of my favorites.

Baby Nursery

Finally we have put the finishing touches on the nursery.  We are officially READY for her arrival.  So, as of next week we are considered full term (37 weeks) ... so you are welcome to come anytime baby shanks!

 

we are officially "canadians"

I put canadians in quotations due to the fact that I can't ever really call myself a full canadian. Even though I did say eh the other day.  Oh, and it got up to 70 deg. here today and it was uncomfortably hot!  I was out for an hour and came in pink.  The joys of living this far north.

Brandon flew home last week to pick up my car from my grandma's.  He also picked up an entire car load of baby supplies from our baby showers.  This little girl sure is spoiled!  She already has more clothes than me.  (I'll post pictures of the nursery soon)  We had to buy a skybox in order to get all these little things up here to Canada.  The car looks pretty good don't you think, eh?

recipe of the week: chicken & spinach stuffed canneloni

 

Note:  I made two pans.  One for tonight and one for the freezer.  I've updated the ingredients accordingly if you'd like to do the same.

chicken and spinach canneloni

{the goods} 
1 1/2 (8-ounce) package cannelloni or manicotti shells 
4 cups finely chopped cooked chicken 
2 (8-ounce) containers chive-and-onion cream cheese 
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained 
1 1/2 cup (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese $ 
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs 
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt 
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper 
2 jars of spaghetti sauce  
Garnish: chopped fresh basil or parsley  ***I used italian seasoning mixed blend


{let's get to cookin}
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.  Stir together chicken and next 6 ingredients. Cut pasta shells lengthwise through the other side. Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture into each shell, gently pressing cut sides together. Place, cut sides down, in 2 lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dishes. Pour spaghetti sauce evenly over shells.  Bake, covered, at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish, if desired.

Freeze after baking.

{myrecipes.com}

read of the week: baby massage

 

I've read in quite a few books now that giving your baby a massage works wonders.  So I finally checked out a book at our local library.  Baby Massage:  The Calming Power of Touch is a quick read with a lot of useful pictures and step by step illustrations.  It teaches you what strokes and touch points to use.  It goes into good detail about techniques that will help colic and gas.  It also talks about different techniques to use on a newborn compared to a toddler.  I may check this out again when baby arrives just so I don't forget anything.  I like the entire "routine" they use after bath.  I can see this being a special bonding time before bed. 

Enjoy!