Ahhh, lasagna. Lasagna is a hearty, scrumptious meal with a side of comfort. It’s bubbling goodness seems to say, “I love you.”

I have enjoyed many a delicious lasagna in my time including the one that my daughter-in-love Amanda made the first time we had dinner at their home. It was delicious! She later reminded me that the first time she ate at our home was for Sunday dinner after church. I made lasagna. Isn’t that so sweet? The circle of life…and life is good.

This week I decided to make a really hearty lasagna. It was really good. I know everyone probably has a favorite or two, so I offer this up if you’d like to try something new. I promise you will not be disappointed. If you are making lasagna for the first time, then I think you’ve come to the right place and you will be very happy with the outcome.



Hearty Beef Lasagna

Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
30-40 mins
Total Time:
1:00 hour

Ahhh, lasagna. To me lasagna is a hearty, delicious meal with a side of comfort. It’s bubbling goodness seems to say, “I love you.”

Enjoy!

SERVES 12

Ingredients

  • 1 pound lasagna noodles
  • 2 pounds 80% ground beef
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup Marsala or dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
  • 1 (12-ounce) can tomato paste
  • 1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano whole tomatoes, broken up in your hand or with a fork
  • Pinch of dried red pepper flakes
  • 2 teaspoons each, garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, dried thyme and dried oregano
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 12 slices of mozzarella cheese
  • 3 cups ricotta cheese
  • 1 large beaten egg
  • 1 tablespoon dried or fresh parsley
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
.

Instructions

Cook your lasagna in a large pot with a little oil and salt. The salt will help flavor your noodles and the oil will keep them from sticking together. Be sure to under cook your lasagna just a bit, so it still has a bit of bite to it (this is called al-dente) because it will continue to cook in the oven. Drain the lasagna noodles well.

Place the ground beef and salt in a large cast iron skillet or saute pan. Brown the beef stirring often. It takes about 10 minutes. At thsi point you can drain all of the beef fat or leave some in like I do for flavor and moisture. Add the garlic and the Marsala or dry white wine and stir for about 5 minutes or until the wine has been absorbed into the beef. Now add your chicken stock and do the same. Add the tomato paste and San Marzano whole tomatoes. Stir and break up the tomatoes. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk and stir, cook 5 minutes more.

Turn off the heat and make the cheese filling:

In a large bowl stir together ricotta cheese, egg and parsley.

In a 9 x 13 – inch baking pan, place three noodles in the bottom of your baking dish, spread half of your ricotta cheese mixture, then 6 slices of mozzarella, spread your meat filling and repeat one more time. End with a third layer f meat sacue adn sprinkle the Parmigiano cheese over the top.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until bubbling. Allow the lasagna to cool a bit for easy serving.

Enjoy!