before i start with this recipe i must clarify that this is my mom’s recipe.  this is not a straight out of italy recipe.  i have never even been to italy, the closest i’ve been to italy was the summer of 2004 when my lawyer friend and i were in nice, france during the last leg of our summer backpacking adventure (so fun!). so please, do not hate me if i am doing something wrong with this.  

not gonna lie, this requires a lot of prep and ingredients, and this is definitely not a fast recipe but it is very worth it. another thing, unless you have an army to feed this will yield plenty of leftovers. i made it on a sunday night and had leftovers for both of us until tuesday! 

here it is: mom’s ground beef lasagna recipe!!

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb of ground beef
1 small onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 box of lasagna noodles (i used pre-cooked - they are easier to handle)
salt & pepper
2 cans of canned tomatoes
olive oil
parmesan-romano cheese* 
fresh parsley
ricotta cheese*
green onions
fresh basil
mozzarella cheese* 
bechamel sauce 
dry oregano 
dry basil 

*fresh cheese is always better, but the packaged stuff also works wonders!

INSTRUCTIONS:
heat up olive oil on a skillet and cook the onions until the soften.  add the garlic and 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley and one tablespoon of chopped fresh basil.  

add the ground beef and mix well with the onions, garlic, parsley and basil. 

season everything with salt and pepper, dry oregano and dry basil. 

cook the meat throughly (about 20 minutes).

mix the tomatoes with 1 tbs each of dry oregano and dry basil.  

spread some of the tomatoes on the bottom of the pan you will use to make the lasagna.

spread the first layer of lasagna pasta (noodles?)

coat the pasta with tomato mixture.  make sure they are well coated. 

add a layer of ground beef.

can you see the garlic cloves?!

add plenty of bechame/white sauce on top of the beef.

add a few dollops of ricotta cheese on top.

and some mozzarella and parmesan-romano cheese.

add another layer of pasta and repeat the layers in the same order until you reach the top of the pan. 

for the final layer add the pasta and spread the rest of the tomato sauce over it. 

on top of that spread bechamel sauce over it. 

add dollops of ricotta cheese and plenty of mozzarella, parmesan-romano cheeses. 

yum!!!! admire your work. i went a little overboard and it looked as if it was going to overflow. 

i placed the pan on a baking sheet and baked according to the instructions in the pasta box.  the trick for pre-cooked pasta is to make sure all the pasta is covered with some sort of sauce/liquid to help the cooking process. if you choose to use the raw kind make sure to follow the box’s instruction to prepare it.  no raw lasagna for us! 

this is what it looks like immediately out of the oven. i am glad i used the baking sheet because a lot of cheese spilled over and that would’ve been a pain to clean. 

to some it may look a little dry but i promise you… once you cut into it, you will see how wrong you are. the chesse is all melted, the sauces and the beef make the inside very… um.. juicy? moist?… you get the idea!

let it cool down for about 10 minutes before slicing into it.

also, see what i said about the juices flowing. if you look closely on this picture and the ones below you can see them on the plate.  

it will still be pretty warm once you serve so be careful when bitting into it. 

just looking at the pictures is making my stomach rumble.  i recommend you accompany this lasagna with some bread and salad with it… or just a fork ;)

i hope you try making it.  thank you so much for stopping by!