It’s always wonderful having family together – especially for a meal. For dinner last night, I made a family favorite: Homemade Lasagna along with Pistachio Cake w/Pistachio Frosting for dessert ❤️

Growing up in an Italian family, we had some sort of pasta with nearly every meal. Especially when visiting my grandmother Marini. She made the best homemade ravioli, chicken cacciatore and of course…lasagna. Dessert was often her homemade Almond Biscotti served with fresh coffee.

As a child, I would carefully watch as my mother made her homemade meatballs and I couldn’t wait to taste them. When she made lasagna it was always for special occasions like a birthday or Christmas.

One year, my sister made pans of lasagna to give away as Christmas gifts. Italian food, red wine and laughter were always a part of our home. I miss these days so very much.

I’m thankful for the memories, traditions and for the times of being with my Italian grandmother and mother in the kitchen. They didn’t follow recipes but instead used a “pinch of this” and a “pinch of that” and everything came out perfect.

I get asked for my lasagna recipe and I really don’t have one. It’s all banked in my memory of how my mother, sister and grandmother made it – so therefore it’s what I do as well. But I wanted to share with you…directly from my memory bank…so that you can have this deliciousness on your table for dinner too I’m with your family and friends.

Mangia! Viva Italia! 🇮🇹❤️

Homemade Lasagna

(For 10-15 hungry people!)

Ingredients

2 Boxes of Lasagna Noodles

1 Large Bottle of Pasta Sauce (I airways use Ragu – it’s a tradition and favorite)

2 -3 pounds of Ground Beef

32 oz and 15 oz Ricotta Cheese

1 1/2 Cups shredded Parmesan Cheese

4 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (reserve a cup and set aside)

3 Eggs

Your favorite Italian Seasonings

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees.

In a large pot, boil the water for your lasagna noodles. Add a touch of olive oil (to prevent the noodles from sticking together) along with a pinch of salt. Cook according to package instructions and constantly stir the noodles. When done, drain the water and set aside.

Cook the ground beef in a skillet. Add your favorite seasonings. I always use salt, pepper and minced onions. When cooked thoroughly, drain the grease from the skillet and add the pasta sauce, stir and combine really well. Put on a low simmer.

For the cheese mixture, add the Ricotta, Parmesan, Mozzarella into a large bowl. Add the eggs and your favorite seasonings. Mix and combine really well.

Start the layering.

In a very large lasagna pan, begin by adding sauce to the bottom of the pan and spread evenly.

Add a layer of lasagna noodles lengthwise across.

Add the meat/pasta sauce mixture evenly across.

Add lasagna noodles lengthwise across.

Add the cheese mixture and spread evenly.

Continue to layer with lasagna noodles, meat/pasta sauce mixture and cheese mixture. Continue layering – last layer is lasagna noodles lengthwise across.

Add pasta sauce to the top layer.

Put foil over the top of the pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Bake for 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, remove the foil and sprinkle a cup of mozzarella cheese over the top. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven.

Let the lasagna sit for about 10-15 minutes so that it will settle and will be easy to cut into.

Enjoy!

One of the best parts of having the family together is when you are so full you just fall asleep in each others arms ❤️