Every mother (and grandmothers) have bragging rights. Right? This week I am bragging about my daughter, Carol Farley. There is so much I could tell you about this sweet “girl” that it would take up pages.
My precious Carol was blessed with many gifts and is very humble because she does not realize her own natural abilities. Even as a child she was always curious about how things are put together and work. She has this uncanny aptitude to assemble any toys, furniture and/or anything mechanical. As a matter of fact, her 17 ½ year Air Force career was in the Aerospace Ground Equipment Department as an Electrician/Mechanical Technician. After leaving the A.F., she graduated from Louisiana Technical College as a Draftsman. She worked for Bell South drafting for 12 ½ years before retiring to become a stay at home housewife, mother and grandmother. Carol has always been good with elderly people and children. She loves babies and adores being with and caring about her grandchildren.
Carol has an unknown to some, a God given artistic talent to draw and paint beautifully. She enjoys doing craft projects if and when she has time. She is an excellent cook and when she helps me in the kitchen, she seems to read my mind. All I have to do is mention what needs to be done and it is done to my liking. She goes above and beyond what is needed to complete any task.
As I have told you in the past, I am not good with reading maps and can get lost even using a GPS. Not so with my Carol. She has no problem with sense of directions and if she has been there once, remembers forever after how to go there again.
Carol, her husband, Herb and their son, Ray are members of Bell Park Baptist Church in Haughton. It is a small but very active church. Herb is the Youth Minister and Carol is over the Youth Girls from Middle to High School level. She also assists Herb with his many duties. This requires money raising events, an annual mission trip, retreats, and various young people activities
At Church on Wednesday, Carol helps with the meal before the evening service and any other function/event requiring food preparation. This ability is probably what led her to volunteer when the call went out for help from Haughton First Baptist Church. The need was to help feed the groups of people throughout the United States coming to this area to help flood victims rebuild. Carol assists in helping prepare three meals a day for these volunteers. The first day there, she was put her in charge which shocked her because she had never had that much responsibility. However, they soon found Liz, a fine lady that has experience feeding large groups. She and Liz work closely together and Carol is learning from this experience. They only know from day to day how many they will be feeding. It could be as few as 20 or as many as 75. As a matter of fact, Liz has taken a brief leave and left Carol in charge this week. Perhaps out Lord has a bigger plan for my Carol’s future.
The recipe I am sharing with you this week is one I sent to them to try. I found it in one of my old (1976) recipe books from a Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church titled *“Harvest of Love.” Perhaps you may need this KEEPER for a family reunion or some sort of large function someday.
ITALIAN LASAGNA
Servings:
36, 48
3, 4 – 10 oz. pkg. lasagna noodles
3, 4 – lbs ground beef
3, 4 – cloves garlic, crushed
3, 4 – whole basil
4, 6 – tsp. salt
3, 4 – 16 oz. cans whole tomatoes
36, 48 – oz. tomato paste
9, 12 – cups cottage cheese
6, 8 – beaten eggs
1 ½, 2 – cups grated parmesan cheese
6, 8 – tsp. parsley flakes
1 ½, 2 – tsp. pepper
3, 4 – lbs. Mozzarella cheese, grated
Cook noodles in boiling, salted water; drain and rinse. Brown meat. Add garlic, basil, salt, whole tomatoes and tomato paste. Combine cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, parsley flakes and pepper. For each casserole, layer the ingredients as follows: Noodles, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and meat. Repeat layer and top with layer of noodles and meat. Repeat layer and top with layer of noodles and cheese. Bake at 375º about 45-60 minutes.
I am proud of my Carol and love her deeply. I pray God will always hold her in His arms and continue to bless her life.
*In July, 2013, the cookbook was given to me by former Minden First Baptist church member and a sweet, precious friend, Jenetta Doseff. She gave me all her recipe books and recipes when she left Minden to live with her daughter and son-in-law, Lyle Ann and John Hernandez in Lafayette, Louisiana. Jenetta joined our Heavenly Father January, 2015.