Barilla Oven-Ready Lasagna with Meat Sauce and Bechamel

This was such a yummy lasagna recipe that we enjoyed a couple nights ago! I've never done a bechamel sauce in lasagna before, and it added such delicious creaminess and richness to the dish. Absolutely perfect and I will definitely use this method again.

The original recipe calls for a jar of meat sauce, but I prefer to cook my ground beef (seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and italian seasoning) and then combine with a jar of sauce - use whichever method you prefer!

We served this yummy lasagna with a big Caesar salad and some homemade garlic cheesy bread rolls for a very filling, cozy dinner. Perfect for this cold weather. I've been craving lasagna for awhile now, and this one totally hit the spot.


I actually had three recipes I'd created already and had to get home and photograph last night - including this one. I rushed to get this one, some yummy tortellini soup that I'll share soon, and my bundt for the month (sharing tomorrow!) all photographed and I only have about 60 minutes, tops, of decent light through the dining room window once I'm home. The dining room is still a mess too - we have our combination vent hood / microwave sitting on a chair in the back corner, near my table I use for pictures, and it was a lovely obstacle to try not to run into or knock over - in addition to that I had my adorable photography assistant, aka clingy teething 15 month old who wants mommy to hold her from the minute I walked in the door until bed time... ok, not quite that bad, but for the first half hour it was. Once I got some teething tablets and food in her she settled down.

It made for a challenging first hour at home, but I was able to get a few decent shots of them all and call it a day! Then it was onto cooking dinner for everyone else and getting the little Ladybug to bed. She heads to bed around 6:30 most nights, so we usually have time for at least a couple shows while dinner is cooking and being eaten to sit and unwind for awhile after the day. It is my favorite time of day, quiet time to snuggle with my hubby on the couch and just be for a little while before heading off to bed and hoping for a decent night of sleep.

Oven-Ready Lasagna with Meat Sauce and Bechamel adapted from Barilla on AllRecipes

Ingredients
1 (9 ounce) box Barilla® Oven Ready Lasagne
4 cups milk
6 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 24-oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb ground beef, cooked and seasoned to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning
2 - 3 TBS dried basil, more to taste (or use up to 1/2 cup fresh basil)

Directions

1. Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. For the bechamel, in a medium saucepan melt butter and stir in the flour; cook 2-3 minutes. Whisk vigorously as you add the milk into the butter-flour mixture. Continue whisking and and bring to a simmer; cook for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and 3/4 of the Parmesan cheese.
3. Pour 1/5 of the Barilla meat sauce (or the combined ground beef with spaghetti sauce) and 1/5 of the bechamel into the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish; top with a sprinkling of basil. Cover with three noodles and repeat for 3 layers. For the top layer add the remaining Parmigiano cheese and a final sprinkling of basil. Cover with foil.
4. Bake until the corners are bubbling and slightly brown, about 20 minutes. Let the lasagna rest for 5 minutes before serving.

That face!! Big girl is growing so fast - already 15 months old...