Today my guest is Laurie Kingery whom I met last year at the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in Minneapolis. She’s a neat person. Here’s Laurie:

“I’d like to tell you about my “other mother,” Helene, not because my own mother wasn’t wonderful, but because Helene was so unique.

Helene was born in Transylvania–no, she wasn’t a vampire! J– and more specifically, the German portion of Rumania, between World Wars I and II, for her family were culturally Germans and spoke German, not Rumanian. She married Gustav, an engineer, and the two settled down to live happily ever after. She gave birth to two sons. Then World War II struck, and though neither of them had any sympathy for the Nazi cause, Gustav was forced into the German army, and Helene was forced to cope alone with her two small sons. They endured many hardships while Gus was away.

But when the Germans were defeated, the Russian army overran eastern Europe, including the place where Helene and her sons lived. She and her sons had to flee, for the Russians were brutal conquerors and showed no mercy to the Germans. She feared for the lives of her sons and herself, and also for Gustav, whose whereabouts at the end of the war were unknown. Though it was difficult for her to talk about and she often held back tears with difficulty, she told me of this perilous journey.

Plagued by hunger, she had to use every bit of resourcefulness she had. At one point they ended up in a refugee camp, at another, she had to fend off rape. But the story ends happily—they made their way to West Germany and freedom, and eventually she and her sons were reunited with Gustav.

Because of Gustav’s skills as an engineer, and despite serving in the German army, they were allowed to come to the United States where Gustav worked in the American defense industry. Their first residence in the United States was an apartment in Columbus, Ohio. Here they met my parents, who coincidentally had just returned from a posting in West Germany with the U.S. Army. My parents and Helene and Gustav hit it off right away. In part, because my father’s heritage was German and they had just been living there, but also because of Helene’s warm friendliness and willingness to babysit for my parent’s toddler—me!

My grandparents lived far away, but Helene became like another grandparent to me, singing to me, telling me stories—and listening to me try to tell stories—and treating me to her delicious cooking. She became a staunch friend to my mother, who as an Army wife lived far from her old friends and family. Helene was a perfectionist at cooking, housekeeping and needlecraft. Helene and her husband became citizens as soon as possible and were filled with a fierce patriotism for their new country.

Helene was widowed fairly early in life, but she told me Gustav continued to visit her in her dreams. She supported herself into old age with her sewing, and after my parents passed on, Helene became my other mother, my “Mutti,” as I called her, using the German word. She was very proud and supportive of my career as a writer. Helene died a few years ago, and I miss her. Though the details of her ordeals in World War II and postwar are somewhat sketchy in my mind, since it’s been years since she told them to me, her brave life makes her a fitting addition, I think, to Lyn Cote’s Strong Women, Brave Stories blog.

Now for my Mexican-style recipe:

TACO CASSEROLE

Nonstick cooking spray
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
½ t. garlic poweder
1 envelope (1.25 oz.) taco seasoning mix
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cottage cheese
2 cups crushed tortilla chips
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350. cut a 2 ½ qt. baking dish with cooking spray
In a skillet, brown the beef. Drain off excess fat. Add onion, garlic powder, taco mix and tomato sauce. Mix and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream and cottage cheese, Place half the crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of the prepared pan. Add enough meat to cover. Top with half the sour cream mixture and half the cheese. Repeat layers. Bake 30-35 mins. Or until the cheese melts and the casserole is heated through.–Laurie”

Now Laurie’s latest Love Inspired Historical, The Outlaw’s Lady, debuts in mid-August. For more info, drop by her website. Or to purchase it click here.

Thanks, Laurie, for the story and for the recipe.–Lyn