This lasagna with bechamel sauce is the perfect family meal—rich, creamy, and full of comforting flavors. Freezes beautifully for later!
Lasagna with Bechamel Sauce is the ultimate comfort food. This recipe perfectly blends classic layers of tender lasagna noodles with a savory tomato meat sauce and cheesy filling, all topped off with a rich, creamy béchamel sauce. The result is truly incredible! With its mix of bold flavors and satisfying textures, this lasagna is always a family favorite and guaranteed to impress.
Lasagna is a beloved dish around the world, and there are countless variations, each home cook adding their own special twist. Whether it’s the choice of meat, the type of cheese, or the addition of something like béchamel sauce, every version is unique. I hope you’ll give this one a try—after all, you can’t go wrong with lasagna! It’s a great make-ahead meal—just prep it in advance and pop it in the oven when you’re ready. It’s perfect for busy weeknights, and it’s always a hit with guests, making it a hostess' dream. Pair it with a simple salad and some breadsticks or rolls, and you've got a winning combination!
While preparing lasagna can take a bit of time, once you have everything ready, assembling it is quick and easy. Plus, lasagna freezes beautifully, so it’s always a fantastic dish to make in advance for busy days ahead.
Last week at the farmer's market, I noticed some gorgeous baskets of peaches that I just couldn't pass by. I knew the moment I laid eyes on them that they would be made into a pie. Don't you love when a trip to the market is so inspiring?
Food is magical. One mouthful can transport us back in our memories to a particular event; an aroma can carry us back to a moment in time. Food feeds us physically and emotionally too.
Croque Monsieur is a French sandwich that is basically a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Many times, it is topped with a cheese sauce.
Southerners have a deep respect for iced tea, or "sweet tea" as it's called here. Just the thought of iced tea makes me think of warm weather and sitting on a porch with a nice tall glass of this sweet and cool drink in hand. Not that I have a porch or even a balcony of any sort, but my imagination is quite active, and in my mind, that's how it should be done.
We went for a week and visited Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice and Milan. We bought a package for a classic tour of Italy, which included travel by bus from city to city. 
Summer days should be laid back and relaxing. When I think of summer, images of relaxing on a porch with a cold drink come to mind or spreading out a blanket on the sweet, lush grass and getting engrossed in the pages of a good book. Trips to the river with lots of wading, splashing and sunbathing, always fill you with mirth and delight. Cooling off in the hot sun by spraying each other with the icy cold water from a hose are a classic reprieve. Evenings are a wonderful time to spend catching fireflies, building bonfires and talking and singing around the fire as we enjoy the company of the people that we love most.
I've been slowly trying out different recipes from the cookbook that I bought about half a year ago, Slow Cooker Revolution, by my most trusted source, 
The ability to make an omelet seems to be synonymous with feeling like an accomplished chef. Omelets are one of the most satisfying and beautiful breakfasts. They are delicate, gorgeous creations, which have the uncanny ability to be both filling and light.
Summer meals should taste vibrant and fresh. This super easy recipe that I am sharing with you today, Sauteed Zucchini and Carrots, is a perfect side dish for any meal. I love how colorful and elegant it looks, but it's so simple to put together. 
In the garden, herbs are some of the first to poke through the warm soil and cheer us with the anticipation of all the fresh produce to come. Once they start growing, they keep us well supplied all summer long. Toward the middle of the summer, there is usually so much dill, basil, parsley, etc, you come up with all kinds of creative ways to incorporate them into every meal.
Uno's Chicago Grill has a Chicken Spinocolli on it's menu. I've eaten it only once, but it was delicious, so I decided to recreate it at home. It really is an impressive chicken dish. The chicken is flattened and stuffed with spinach, broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes and a mixture of cheeses. I love how crunchy it is on the outside and really juicy and flavorful inside.
Cooking with children can be fun, challenging and rewarding.
As those of you who follow my blog on a regular basis already know, I love simple food. Learning the basics and being able to create many variations based on the core foundations is a skill that will get you far.
Staying organized while you cook will make your food taste better too.
This soup has an incredible combination of flavors and textures. It comes together really quickly and if you prep all your ingredients ahead of time, you can be savoring every spoonful of it's goodness within 30-40 minutes.
When I figure out different uses for a basic recipe, I get really excited. For example, why have 10 recipes for Tomato Sauce if I can have 1 really awesome one that I use for almost every recipe that uses Tomato Sauce? I have a 
Holiday main courses usually take a lot of time and effort. Did the turkey just come to mind? A gorgeous glazed ham is probably the easiest and most fuss-free meal you could make. The ham is already cooked, as a matter of fact, you just need to reheat it. Just like most of us like to dress up in something special on the holidays , the delicious glaze gives the ham a beautiful shine and an extraordinary flavor boost.
Meat and potatoes have such hearty, comforting personalities. When you combine both, you get a very satisfying dinner. For this dinner, I attempted to make mashed potatoes and gravy in the form of a casserole. I used sausage and mushrooms as the base of the gravy and topped it with fluffy and creamy mashed potatoes. With crispy, golden cheese to top it all off, we were very pleased with the results. With a side of green beans (which happen to be my favorite side dish), this dinner is beautiful enough to serve for the holidays and simple enough for any ordinary dinner. 
I was once again reminded why seafood is my favorite entree when I tried this recipe. Sergi and I were both amazed and thrilled when we tasted it. This was probably the quickest photo session ever; while Sergi was taking pictures of the final product, I was sneaking off little tidbits to taste. As soon as I gave him a bite, we hurried it up with the camera and plated ourselves some dinner.
Tomato Salad with sour cream is as Russian as you can get. I don't know any Slavic person who didn't grow up eating this salad. I serve this salad at least once a week when tomatoes are in season, usually a few times a week. You can also add cucumbers and radishes to this salad for extra crunch and flavor.
For picnics or potlucks, it's nice to have a recipe that can be made ahead of time and still taste fresh when served. This creamy pasta salad is a big success whenever I serve it. I found the recipe in a 
My parents are big believers in eating lots of vegetables, and they passed it on to me. If I don't eat a vegetable with a meal, it just doesn't feel complete. We ALWAYS have some sort of vegetable side dish to accompany every meal. In most cases, we eat our veggies in their raw state - my absolute favorite being a fresh tomato salad with fresh herbs and sour cream. However, even in Florida we have those cold, bleak days when comfort food is a must.
Kulebyaka, the Russian savory pie, goes back in history as one of the traditional dishes of Russian cuisine. In many versions of the kulebyaka, a yeast dough is used, but the puff pastry is also quite popular.
What? Make puff pastry at home? Am I crazy?! Isn't it super hard to make and only French bakers, pastry chefs and factories make puff pastry from scratch? Let me assure you, I am none of the above and I made this dough. Trust me, you'll be so surprised how easy it is to make. Now, granted, this is a quick version of puff pastry. The regular puff pastry is a little more time consuming and can be just a bit tricky. Ok. I admit it - puff pastry is finicky and hard, but not as hard as most people think. I've done it before and it's not bad at all.
Did you ever notice that many baking recipes specify that the ingredients have to be at room temperature or softened?