stacie's sacred space

celebrating johnny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

for my little campers

it's a no bake s'mores cookie (i found in parents magazine this month) and since my kids started nature camps today, i gave it a try for their after camp treat!

my old neighbor, traci was hanging with me since our kids are in camp together so i have to give her most of the credit for making these. 

i pulled out ingredients and measuring cups and put away my groceries while she measured and mixed.

thanks, trac!! it's so much more fun to work in the kitchen with a buddie.

the kids enjoyed the special treat, and i loved surprising them!

here's the recipe:

i doubled it, of course!

chocolate marshmallow meltaways

1 1/4 cups graham-cracker crumbs

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

7 oz. marshmallow cream (this is the only ingredient i didn't double)

nonstick cooking spray

chocolate syrup

1. in a large bow, mis teh crumbs, peanut butter, maple syrup, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. shape into 24 1 1/4-inch balls and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet or tray as you shape. use a fork to flatten and make a crisscross design on each ball.

2. before serving, spoon 1/2 teaspoon marshmallow on each cookie. coat the spoon with nonstick spray to make it easier. then drizzle the cookies with chocolate syrup.

and if you want prettier pics, go to the parents website here.

might just be a lesson in imperfection

jeff's birthday cake ideas came from here and here (via a. joan's email ... she's good at encouraging me with lots of neat ideas! thanks, a. joan!!)

 

the year of cakes is kind of fun and sometimes very frustrating.

yesterday i was cursing this darn cake wishing i was going to dq for the ice cream cake my kids really wanted me to get!

i'm not doing it to get good enough to open a bakery or bake for anyone except my family and close friends.

i did realize that i've made a cake every month except april this year.

that was by accident but we do have six different months of birthdays and we celebrated first communion and the last day of school with cake.

one cake a month, i can do it!

september, october and december don't have occasions so i'll be looking for ideas to surprise my kids ... or one of their close friends. i know of a few close friends who have september birthdays!

anyway, when i was cursing the cake and wishing i was relaxing during quiet time, i realized this little experiment might just be a lesson in imperfection for me.

when i do things, i like to do them beautifully and right.

i don't usually like mistakes and cleaning up the messes they make.

i'm not that good at asking for help either.

my cakes have been fine but definitely not beautiful like the foodie blogs show.

they're more like fun time mama cakes and i think i get a star for the effort and courage to try.

something like that.

i am happy that i'm venturing out to try something new. 

seven months ago, i had never even made a layer cake or my own icing before.

i don't think i ever made a cake from scratch either.

when i was making this cake yesterday, i said, "i'll never try this one again."

then wendy made a comment that it was really good for a first try.

maybe it would be better the second or third time around so what the heck, i may just try it again someday.

i'm crazy like that!!

a favorite off the grill

i was just about to type this in an email for someone who requested it.

i thought i'd post it instead because this is an easy place for me to find my favorites and i'm bound to lose the little card it's on.

this one is from my old neighbor traci who brought me this for dinner with potatoes and homemade applesauce.

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flank steak marinade

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 T. olive oil

2 T. honey

1 T. red wine vinegar

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. ground ginger

 

mix all ingredients and marinade scored flank steak for four to six hours (or put the marinade in a freezer bag and freeze the steak in the marinade) then grill and enjoy!

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it's a family favorite here.

i often make fresh cinnamon and sea salt sweet potato fries with it. 

yummy!

clicking around

you have through tomorrow to leave me a comment here to be entered to get a surprise in the mail from me!

this website is fascinating to me. i'm gonna have to find some prints and take some pictures of the past in the present and write tiny stories. i just have to pull that off. my wheels are spinning. 

i have wanted a bread maker for a couple years now. this family goes through tons of bread and it's a good memory from my teenage years ... the smell of the house when mom made us fresh yummy bread. now she has been posting recipes like this that have me drooling (breadsticks, soft pretzels and bagels - yummy!).

fourth of july is on my mind and even though we don't have many plans for the weekend, it's a reason to celebrate and be festive and try new things. maybe this for a snack?

okay this is adorable! maybe we need another j baby someday. i hope dave is reading this :) it's no secret that i'd love to have another.

i can see janie wearing this someday. it will be a gift from me with a note that says, "and return to the nest anytime you want!"

sewing paper is something i want to learn. i thought i had to borrow a machine and now i see i can do it by hand. look at this cute garland!

so i don't watch any shows really but i love to click around the web when i have some free time. that's all from me for now.

let me count the ways

we love our pizza

1. muffin tin or cupcake style pizza (our latest fun!)
2. ordered and delivered pizza
3. grilled pizza
4. english muffins pizza
5. french bread pizza
6. pepperoni roll pizza
7. carsonie's stromboli
8. pizza dip
9. frozen pizza
10. bagel bite pizza

 

i only bought one container of pizza dough and that was not enough for this cupcake pizza lunch.

the kids loved these!

we want to try them in mini muffin tins sometime too.

bit sized yummies make these kids happy!

the only problem i'm having is variation in our summer menu.

i feel like i'm feeding these kids non stop and it's pizza variations, chicken variations, bratwurst or hot dogs, egg variations, pb&j, repeat.

then my pantry, fridge and freezer are almost empty and we just went to the store, didn't we?

summer feeding is hard ... anybody have simple ideas for me?

cooking and who i am

the kitchen is definitely not my spot for creativity.

it's not where i'm able to really find who i am.

i'd much rather be sitting at a table with my pens and markers.

or doing an art project with the kids.

or writing.

or poking around on the internet.

or even reading a book.

i'm a slow reader so sometimes i get discouraged by reading but i find nuggets of inspiration in every book i read.

books also take me away from the worries of my own life.

i did make a big pot of veggie soup (because i'm on a mission to get thinner healthier).

i also tried a new recipe that i've been eying a few weeks now.

i thought it was good. dave thought it was okay. the kids said it wasn't their favorite.

it's hard to please all the picky eaters in my house so maybe that's why i don't like cooking.

i'd rather be appreciated.

that's the real deal, and for some reason i wish i didn't yearn that.

may God bless the messes that i have inside me.

the junk i find often does bring unexpected blessings. 

thank goodness!!

the kitchen is a place i like to clean though.

if only i could find someone inside these four walls who would like to cook all kinds of healthy meals that everyone liked :)

carrot cake recipe

 

the first time i ever made a layer cake (from scratch) this is how i did it!

i did it for dave. 

 

2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups canola oil
2 cups flour
2t baking soda
2t baking powder
2t cinnamon
4 cups grated carrots
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

preheat oven to 350.  grease and flour cake pans.  beat together sugar and eggs--stir in oil.  mix dry ingredients together and add to sugar/egg mixture.  fold in carrots and nuts.  bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center of cake.

cream cheese frosting

16 ounces cream cheese (2 boxes)
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2t vanilla
2 lbs. powdered sugar (i used about half of what this called for)

Soften cream cheese and butter.  Beat until well blended.

 

thank you, wendy for the recipe and all the encouragement. 

maybe i really will become domesticated after all :)

seeing beauty

i know, i know i've been boo-hooing and griping a lot. these kids have seen me cry a whole bunch in the last week and a half too. i can't even explain my sadness to them and that makes me even more sad. somedays i can barely pick up the camera (but i've come this far with project 365 that i HAVE to). anyway, when i just look at the pictures and ignore the thoughts and words and head junk and even some of the unresolved heart matters ... i see pure beauty in my life.

check it out.

 

we played a little school.

 

 

he played a little monopoly ... the fourth kid learns to play big stuff fast!!

 

  

we got to meet daddy at the park for lunch.

 

i tried my own version of this recipe for after school snacks.

there are blurry pictures and joyful moments even in the messes these kids make around me. i mean, c'mon, stacie, you've had a career and managed family life too. for me, it's so much more joyful when i can be more focused and in the present moment. i get to do things that i wouldn't ordinarily slow down enough to do if i was focusing on a career. yea, our bank account might suffer with this choice, but i've had to remind myself time and time again (especially recently) that the true goal in life is to get to heaven and make sure dave and all the j kids are there with me. the rest of life is just so temporary, really.

so here's what wasn't photographed that i can appreciate as i rest before hitting the pillow

• running around town for matching jammies that are on sale for $8 right now at gymboree ... i feel crazy trying to do that for four kids but it's just so so cute and sometimes i like to pretend i've got it all together.
• rushing janie to school after driving across time to pick up our shade that needed restrung.
• enjoying alone time with johnny doing puzzles and playing don't break the ice in the basement!
• praying quietly alone for a good 30 minutes ... ahhhhhhhhh!!
• listening to uplifting music while preparing those baked apples.
• taking joey to the library to see his tutor while the three littles were good in the grocery store.
• pulling dinner, baths and the house together in time for the neighbors to watch our kids while we went to curriculum night at school.
• coming home from curriculum night to a clean kitchen and BEvERages!

guess what we are having for dinner?

today when i was digging around for this flank steak marinade recipe that i have on a 5x7 notecard, i dropped a bunch of papers. my frustration that i don't have my whole cookbook electronically came back to me. ugh!!!

so i'm posting this one now. maybe someday i'll have an electronic cookbook (i like this blog one)! until then, it's one recipe at a time.

flank steak marinade 

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

mix above ingredients and marinade scored flank steak for 4-6 hours (or freeze it right away).

grill or broil about ten minutes each side.

roasted or steamed veggies and homemade sweet potato chips with cinnamon and seasalt are my favorite sides for this!

i got this yummy recipe when my next door neighbor made it for us when joey was born (almost 8 years ago) and i keep a frozen one in my freezer quite often. 

it also brings back a fond memory of dad. in april of 2006, he called to ask if he could stay with us while he visited dennison and capital and did other sales calls in the area for a couple days. he said he'd even come downtown to my office and take me to lunch. i remember feeling like we always ordered pizza when he came to visit so this time i thawed a flank steak and had sweet potatoes on hand. i got excited to prepare a real dinner for dad!!! i felt so "put together." i was gonna roll in from work, pick up the kids and get this nice dinner going. we'd have a great night with dad. well, at lunch that day, he told me he was on a special diet (the elimination diet that kellie told him about), and he couldn't eat red meat on it. he also told me he hadn't been feeling well and something like black bean soup from panera would be fine for dinner. i was a little disappointed (of course also very sad to hear him admit to not feeling well). i would roll with that plan though. i was just so happy to have him stay with us and spend time with the kids! little did i know this would be the last time he'd stay and be "well" ... without the cancer diagnosis anyway. we got that diagnosis about a month after this visit, and our lives changed forever. hmmmm ... could be a reason transitions are hard. they change our lives forever. pieces of the story come together just like that.

now it's four and a half years later, and i miss that man like crazy. i hate especially that mom doesn't have him at her side. i also hate that my kids don't have him as their grandpa. i see very clearly why it's good for kids to have two parents even when they're adults. i feel very lucky i had such an amazing dad. i hope i can live a full life like he did (even though his seemed short to me).