Family Favorite Lasagna

The Zoom meeting with the publisher was Wednesday. Professional Rachel showed up: hair brushed, nice shirt (from the waist up; pajama pants below the camera frame, because pandemic). The editor, a woman named Clara, asked about my vision for the book. 'It's a recipe book that's also a memoir,' I said. 'Each chapter is a duty station. Each recipe is a story. The food is the map of a military family life — the deployments, the moves, the celebrations, the ordinary Tuesdays that add up to a life.' Clara said, 'That's exactly what I hoped you'd say.' The book deal: $8,000 advance. Split into two payments — $4,000 on signing, $4,000 on manuscript delivery. Manuscript due in twelve months. Target publication: spring 2022. Eight thousand dollars. I know that's not a lot in publishing terms. I know debut authors with big publishers get more. But eight thousand dollars is more than my bookstore job paid in a year. It's real money for real words about real food. Ryan: 'We should celebrate.' Me: 'With what?' Ryan: 'With the short ribs. The ones that started everything.' So I made Soo-Jin's Korean short ribs — the recipe that changed my cooking, the recipe from a Korean-American military wife in base housing at Camp Pendleton. The marinade, the grill, the caramelized edges. Ryan ate five. Caleb ate rice. I ate three and thought about every kitchen I've been in and every recipe I've collected and the book that will hold all of them. I called everyone: - Mom: cried. 'Your father is going to need to sit down.' - Dad: sat down. Said nothing for thirty seconds. Then: 'I'm proud of you, Rachel. I'm so — I'm so proud.' Voice broke. Went to the garden. - Megan: 'RACHEL. A BOOK? Oh my God. This is — Rachel, this is AMAZING.' No caveats. No 'but.' Just amazement. - Keisha: screamed. For approximately sixty seconds. Then: 'Does this mean I'm going to be in it?' (Yes, Keisha. You're in it.) - Jen: 'I told you. I TOLD you to blog about it. You owe me.' I owe everyone. The book is everyone's — Mom's recipes, Dad's tomatoes, Soo-Jin's short ribs, Sandra's popcorn balls, Jen's brownies, Keisha's grandma's sweet potato pie. Every woman who shared a recipe and a story at a kitchen table or a support group or a potluck. For all the Donnas. That's the working title. I signed the contract Thursday. Digital signature, because pandemic. But signed. The book is real. The advance is real. The short ribs were perfect.

That night it was the short ribs — Soo-Jin’s recipe, the one that started everything, the one that will anchor a whole chapter in the book. But when I think about the meals that have carried our family through duty stations and deployments and ordinary Tuesdays that somehow add up to a life, this lasagna is always near the top of the list. It’s the dish I make when I need the kitchen to feel like home, wherever home happens to be that year. If you’re feeding people you love through something big — a celebration, a hard week, a moment that deserves a table — this is the one I reach for.

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes | Servings: 10

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (80/20)
1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper to taste
12 lasagna noodles (regular or oven-ready)
2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Instructions

Cook the noodles. If using regular lasagna noodles, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook noodles 2 minutes less than package directions (they will finish cooking in the oven). Drain and lay flat on a lightly oiled baking sheet to prevent sticking. Skip this step for oven-ready noodles.
Brown the meat. In a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef and Italian sausage together, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains, about 8–10 minutes. Drain excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan.
Build the sauce. Add the diced onion to the meat and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant. Add the marinara sauce, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
Make the ricotta filling. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, eggs, parsley, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. Stir until fully mixed. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Layer the lasagna. Spread 1 cup of meat sauce across the bottom of the baking dish. Lay 3–4 noodles over the sauce (slightly overlapping is fine). Spread one-third of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Add one-third of the remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat layers twice more. For the final layer, place the last noodles on top, cover with remaining meat sauce, and spread the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan evenly over the top.
Bake covered. Cover tightly with foil (tent slightly so it doesn’t stick to the cheese) and bake for 35 minutes.
Bake uncovered. Remove foil and bake an additional 20–25 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden in spots and the edges are caramelized.
Rest before serving. Remove from oven and let the lasagna rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing. This step is non-negotiable — it’s the difference between a clean slice and a beautiful mess.

Nutrition (per serving)

Family Favorite Lasagna — The Recipe We Made When Everything Changed