My mom made lasagna a lot when I was a kid. I remember loving the combination of flavors melting together and eating it with crunchy garlic bread. My kids love it too, and it’s the perfect comforting dish to end a long day.

While you can change the recipe up a number of ways, this here is the basic…

ingredients:
1 box lasagna noodles

1 pound ground beef
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 eggs
salt
pepper

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
5 cups marinara sauce (make your own or buy, whatever)

Boil the noodles according to package. Drain and set aside. (*note: I am not a fan of no boil noodles. Old skool is best. The end.)

In a pan brown the ground beef with the garlic – season with the salt, pepper, oregano and onion powder. Mix with 2 cups of marinara sauce. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine the ricotta cheese, 2 cups mozzarella cheese and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. (There is a lot of ‘setting aside’ going on here…)

Ok, FINALLY, time to assemble. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 9×13 inch pan by greasing it with olive oil.

On the bottom layer, spread about 1 cup of marinara sauce. On top of that place one layer of noodles, 1/3 of your ricotta cheese mixture, and then half of the ground beef mixture. On top of that sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Next layer: lasagna noodles, 1/3 of ricotta mixture, another 1 cup of sauce.

Third Layer: another layer of noodles, the rest of the ricotta cheese mixture, and the rest of the meat mixture.

Final layer (you’re almost there!): The last of the noodles, 1 cup of sauce, and then sprinkle 1 cup of parmesan cheese.

Cover the pan with foil and place it on a baking sheet in case it bubbles over. Bake for 50 minutes, uncover and cook for another 5 minutes.

Let sit, and then serve.

The kids love lasagne – the Kid and I prefer vegetarian, but if the Baby has any say – this ground beef version is the way to go.