Making Lasagna and Spreading Good Summer Cheer

Monday was our day for the Girl Scouts to take dinner to the Rainbow House and somehow the non-garlic loving girl got the job of teaching a group of girls how to make Lasagna. How ironic.  Hopefully, the guests at the House did not miss the garlic!  Thankfully, Miss A and her two girl scout friends did not complain that I left this key ingredient out however, I did increase the amount of basil and parsley to make up for the missing garlic.

The plan was that we'd split the meal among three moms/houses and have a few girls come to each house to make the item and learn a little about cooking (a badge we'd been working on for awhile) and have some fun too.  One mom made all the Jello Salads, another group made the Homemade Brownies and Garden Salad and I was in charge of Meat Lasagnas for 35 people.  My original plan was to make three big pans and a small pan for our family; but when I called to confirm our delivery plans I was told the Home was filled to overflow and they'd take all the food they could take.  Four pans, no problem.

First the girls used their can opening skills to open up multiple cans of tomato products from crushed to paste.  Miss A had never used a can opener before, she's got a bad mother who fears cuts on can lids. She did a great job as did her friends although according to Miss G we don't open cans correctly since we don't remove the entire lid!  Next the girls used their knife skills to chop the onions and fresh parsley.  I was the most nervous on this step, but the girls did great even if they did cry from the onions.  Once the sauce pans simmered for 40 minutes, the girls were in charge of assembly putting meat sauce, noodles, cheese and egg mixture, and of course the gooey cheese.

It looked great and the smells in my kitchen were amazing.  The girls even helped with clean up and by the time we needed to leave for delivery, the lasagnas looked perfect.  Miss A who doesn't even like anything Italian or "mixed together" food even admitted it might not be too bad.  Once we arrived at the Rainbow House, my car smelled like a miniature Italian Restaurant and our girls were excited to set up the feast for the families.

I'm so proud of our "Girls" who willingly gave funds from their cookie sales to purchase the ingredients and then gave up time out of their summer fun to make the meal for these families.  Teaching the girls compassion and caring for others is part of what will make them amazing women someday.  I'm so glad that Miss A and her friends are learning that it can be fun to give back and share with others.  I think the Rainbow House families loved their homemade treats and dinner that night and I hope they felt the love and prayers from us as well.

Spreading Good Cheer; it's not just a Christmas Tradition; it can become a lifestyle too!