He Knew How To Flush Your Radiator

Going to a Christian school, we didn't celebrate Halloween, but we did celebrate All Saints Day.  Or at least we did one year.  It must have been 5th grade.  The building we had school in had an unfinished part of the basement.  Our teacher took us down there to teach us about All Saints Day.  I don't remember the significance of being in the dirt and dark, but we sat down there for her to tell us about the holiday.

I don't recall what she told us about the holiday.  What I do know is that I've learned a few things over the years about Day of the Dead.  Day of the Dead is actually 2 or 3 days depending on who you ask.  I'm gonna stick with 2 days for now.  November 1 & 2.  November 1st being All Saints Day and November 2nd All Souls Day.  Both days are meant to remember people we loved and have passed on.  Memorials are set up to remember those people and food is offered.  Some of the things they do seems a bit creepy, but I think the idea of the holiday is a good one.  To remember and honor people we love who have passed away.

Today I spent the day with friends I've had for a long long time.  And while my mind was not on All Saints Day all, I was brought back to remembering my dad.  And what an honor it was to him for a friend to say that she and her husband respected my dad and always appreciated his wisdom.  My dad was a quiet man, but he was wise.  My dad was the person I called when I had a question.  He knew where to find just about anything in the Bible.  He knew how to flush your radiator.  It was rare for him to not know the answer to one of my questions.

He was also a man with great faith.  We moved to Idaho to start a church.  That is not a high paying job.  Well monetarily speaking.  My dad always believe that God would provide for us.  And He always did.  We didn't live a life of luxury, but we had what we needed.  My dad also always trusted that God would guide him in leading a church.  Even though that's not something that's as easily measured, I think He did.

Not only was my dad wise, he was also funny and loved sports.  He was a meat and potatoes kind of guy.  I once made dinner that had no meat.  He acted like I was crazy.  I always made sure to serve some kind of meat after that.  Since the days of making dinner for my family, I have gone through phases of what I like to eat.  Actually, I have gone through phases my whole life.  I didn't eat much meat for a while.  Now I eat some but not a ton.  And because of that, I don't have a lot of recipes with meat in it.  I can cook a mean ribeye or burger.  But those don't really call for recipes.  So I had to dig deep for this recipe.

Easy Oven Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
2 - 15oz cans marinara sauce
1 - 10oz pkg lasagna noodles
1 cup ricotta or small curd cottage cheese
12 oz mozzarella cheese, sliced or grated
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup water
1 tsp salt

Brown ground beef, drain.  Add water, marinara sauce and salt, bring to a boil.  In 2 t. baking dish, layer hot cause, uncooked lasagna, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses.  Repeat layers, ending with sauce.  5 layers with 6 noodles each later.  Garnish with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake at 375 for 1 hour.  Let stand 5 -10 minutes before cutting into squares.  Serves 8.  Decrease temperature 25 degrees last 1/2 hour in black pan.