Italian Sunday Dinner: Beef Lasagna for Grandparent’s Day

ByHelloIm50ish

Celebrating Grandparent's Day with my grandchildren

Ladies this Sunday is Grandparent’s Day and we celebrate it with our grandchildren. It’s also my Sunday Italian dinner day and I’m sharing my beef lasagna recipe with you. I’m heading over to my son’s house tomorrow for Grandparent’s Day and bringing the lasagna!

Beef Lasagna Recipe

This is the recipe that I make for my children. Everyone has their own way of making lasagna. For instance, my mother makes a wonderful lasagna using cottage cheese instead of ricotta cheese. Even my husband’s family recipe omits the ricotta cheese and it’s not as cheesy as mine.

I love to make homemade lasagna for Sunday dinner. It’s also perfect for entertaining or for when you need to bring a meal to a friend or family member. You can make lasagna ahead of time and bake it later.

baked lasagna on a baking sheet

How to make the Lasagna:

  • Make the meat sauce
  • Make a ricotta cheese mixture
  • Boil the pasta
  • Assemble the lasagna
  • Bake
  • Cool
  • Enjoy

Beef Lasagna ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb. ground beef
  • 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
  • 1 medium onion -chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves -minced
  • 4 (28 oz.) cans of San Marzano tomatoes, crushed or pureed
  • 1 (28 oz.) can of San Marazano Puree ( or any puree)
  • 3 teaspoons salt -divided
  • 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning -divided
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves -divided (I actually freeze fresh basil in snack bags and crush them instead of using dried basil)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley -divided
  • 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese -divided
  • 15 oz. (1 3/4 cups) whole milk Ricotta cheese
  • 2 cups grated parmesan cheese -divided
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 box of lasagna noodles ( I use Barilla regular lasagna noodles. I have tried the no-boil lasagna noodles but I’m not a fan)

Beef lasagna with ricotta cheese

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Make the meat sauce. Add beef and sausage to a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. Add the onion and garlic. Cook until meat is browned, about 6-8 minutes. Drain the fat from the meat. Return the meat to the skillet.
  • Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato puree,  2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon chopped basil, and black pepper. Stir until well combined. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the minced parsley.
  • As the sauce cooks, make the ricotta mixture. In a large bowl, add 2 cups mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup parmesan, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and 1/2 teaspoon basil. Stir until well incorporated.
  • Cook the lasagna noodles al dente, according to its package directions. ALWAYS UNDERCOOK! The noodles will continue to cook in the lasagna.

How to Layer Lasagna:

  • Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce in the bottom of a sprayed deep dish baking dish or Lasagna Pan (I often use a deep dish 11x15x4 tin foil pan for easy cleanup!)
  • Make a layer of cooked lasagna noodles
  • Spread an even layer of the ricotta cheese mixture
  • sprinkle grated parmesan and mozzarella over ricotta
  • Spread an even layer of meat sauce
  • Repeat those layers two times
  • Top it with a final layer of noodles, sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese

How to Bake Lasagna:

  • Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil
  • Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes
  • Remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes
  • Let the lasagna rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing

Celebrating Being a Grandparent on Grandparent’s Day!

Livie and Lucie LaMonte. My sweet granddaughters.
Livie and Lucie LaMonte. My sweet granddaughters.

Something magical happens when you become a grandparent. You think your greatest unconditional love is for your children but then their babies fill your heart with so much more love.

As well as giving me the opportunity to spend time loving our granddaughters without the responsibility of raising them. I raised my 4 children so now I can give unconditional love to Lucie and Livie.

We are blessed that our sweet little granddaughters live near us. Watching them grow up with every new milestone just brings so much to my heart.

Because of this blog, you have met my granddaughters when I did collaborations with Mud Pie Gift. Livie was introduced in 2019 for this Grandparent’s Day collaboration with Mud Pie.

Grandparent's Day with Mud Pie Gift

GrandParent’s Day with Mud Pie

Last year’s collaboration with Mud Pie I introduced Livie’s little sister Lucie for a Thanksgiving post. Lucie is now 16 months and has changed so much from this post from last year.

 Counting My Blessings This Year at Thanksgiving

Watching Our Children become Amazing Parents

Being a grandparent is not just about your beautiful grandkids, it’s about your own children too. There’s nothing that can compare to the magic of watching your children turn into loving, caring parents. Witnessing my son and our daughter-in-law become amazing parents to our granddaughters gives me so much pride.

Watching My Husband become the Doting Grandfather

My husband has become a doting grandfather to the girls which makes me love him even more. He didn’t have the time to play with our children when they were little because of his career. Finally, he has the time to be a doting grandfather and love his little girls unconditionally. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for those little girls.

Nana’s Unconditional Love

Since I’m now a Nana, I can enjoy spending time loving our granddaughters without the responsibility of raising them. I raised my 4 children so now I can give unconditional love to Lucie and Livie without the pressure of parenting. That doesn’t mean that I don’t discipline the girls if they are doing something harmful or not listening to rules, I just report back to their mom and dad and let them deal with it.

I  bend the rules as  Nana. For instance, when I babysit and have to stay overnight, Livie crawls into bed with me. When I was a little girl I remember crawling into bed and sleeping with my grandparents. It was such a special memory for me.

Live is now 3 1/2 and has become a smart and articulate little girl. We spend time coloring, reading, and taking walks together. Even when I’m preparing food she pulls up a chair and helps me.

 

It rained one evening in Park City and this photo of Livie in her favorite pink rain boots (which she wears every day!) with the rainbow above made me think of Bruno. He is looking over our sweet granddaughter from the rainbow bridge. Bruno loved Livie so much.

Lastly, as grandparents, nothing will ever make your heart swell as when your grandchildren as so excited to see you. Livie was beside herself when we came back from Park City after being away for 2 months. She was so overcome with happiness when we pulled in. That is the best homecoming greeting ever. When your grandchildren can’t wait to hug you is the best feeling in the world!

As always thank you for stopping by today.

I wish those of you who are grandparents a wonderful Grandparent’s Day!

 

 

 

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2 Comments

  1. Nothing better than a good lasagna! My husband isn’t a fan of ricotta (I could eat it straight from the container…oh wait, I do), so I found a recipe that appeases him but still makes me feel like I’m not completely betraying my Italian heritage.

    Reply
    1. HelloIm50ish says:

      So do you make your lasagna without ricotta?
      My husband’s family only eats lasagna without ricotta!
      I am a cheesehead at heart so mine is made with ricotta!

      Reply