NATIONAL LASAGNA DAY

July 28, 2026June 15, 2026Jensperspectiveblog 1 Comment

The best way to join in National Lasagna Day on July 29th is to bake up a pan of the Italian pasta dish. Another way to celebrate is by getting a table at your favorite Italian restaurant.

Due to lasagna’s broad noodles, the pasta lends itself to layering. A variety of ingredients such as cheeses, meats, vegetables, and sauces create a delicious blend of savory baked layers. For individual servings, roll similar elements into the pasta noodles. A fun twist is white lasagna. Made with chicken, mushrooms, alfredo sauce and white cheeses.

Mora Ceramic Baking Dish with Handles For Casserole, Lasagna, Gratin, Broiling, Roasting, and Baking. Large 9x13 in Pan, Extra Deep - Porcelain Serving Bakeware from Oven to Table. Freezer Safe - White — Mora Ceramic Baking Dish with Handles For Casserole, Lasagna, Gratin, Broiling, Roasting, and Baking. Large 9×13 in Pan, Extra Deep – Porcelain Serving Bakeware from Oven to Table. Freezer Safe – White

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Since lasagna is one of the oldest kinds of pasta, cooks have developed quite a selection of recipes. From vegan to seafood and dessert, lasagna fills recipe books around the world. Even the sauces come in a wide variety.

Unsurprisingly, many families create unique recipes that are passed down from generation to generation. Sometimes the sauce makes the lasagna special, too. Other families make their sausage from scratch. Fresh-picked tomatoes, onions, and herbs are often a cook’s secret. Others will claim the best lasagna makers use a specific kind and number of cheeses.

Overall, most lasagna recipes call for mozzarella, parmesan, and ricotta. However, lasagna is not limited to those three kinds of cheese. Italian seasonings such as garlic, basil, and oregano bring that delicious flavor, too. Try this super easy lasagne made in the crockpot too. Lazy Lasagna has all the flavor of the original with a fraction of the work. For another easy take on this classic try Lasagna Soup too. Find the variation and freezer version with keto friendly ingredients Lazy Lasagna recipe.

For the low carb and keto diets you can substitute strips of zucchini or even eggplant for a lower carb delight. Make your sauce from scratch to control sugars and use plenty of cheeses. Bring this classic comfort food to your healthy table too.

The origin of lasagna is debated with varying theories.
Initially, the word lasagna referred to the pot in which the dish was cooked rather than the food.
A 14th-century English cookbook featured a recipe for lasagna.
Even cartoon characters enjoy the dish. Garfield, the cat, declares his love for lasagna in the cartoon strip with his name.

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalLasagnaDay

Have a lasagna cookoff. Invite friends and family over for an evening of lasagna tasting. While everyone tastes and compares, enjoy a bottle of wine and laughter. Meanwhile, tell stories of your first attempt to make lasagna – everyone has one. And, don’t forget to get the children involved in baking, too! Lasagna is a family-friendly baking experience. They can mix ingredients and add layers before the cooking begins.

Try one of these recipes:

Post on social media using #NationalLasagnaDay and share your celebration.

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Jen’s Lazy Lasagna

July 28, 2026June 15, 2026Jensperspectiveblog 4 Comments

A new take on this classic comfort food allows for easy preparation and a fraction of the work. The Crockpot allows you to put dinner on before leaving for work, and still come home to a home cooked meal.

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by Crock-Pot — Crock Pot Slow Cooker|8 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker with Digital Countdown Timer, Black Stainless Steel – SCCPVFC800-DS

by Crock-Pot

I’ve made this with the same layering in the oven as well. Both are s great way to enjoy this favorite. The recipe can easy customized for dietary needs and you can also make a soup with the same ingredients.

My mom introduced me to using these. They make cleanup so easy…simply remove and toss.
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by Western Orange

Ingredients

1 lb fround beef
1 small onion diced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste
Great Value tomato, basil, garlic sauce
(Only 1g sugar vs Prego 9g per serving)
Or
2cans Red Gold tomatoes diced italian
(5g carbohydrates per serving)
2 packages frozen ravioli
Frozen drained spinach if desired
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

In large skillet or dutch oven brown minced beef
Drain excess fat
Add onion, garlic, Italian Seasoning, and pasta sauce or tomatoes
Salt and pepper if needed
In lined Crockpot layer Meat sauce cheese, ravioli
Repeat making about 3 layers
Top with more mozzarella and sprinkle with Parmesan if desired

Make ahead and go from freezer to dinner in about 40 minutes. Layer in foil pans a add to your freezer meal selection. (We put the directions in the lid so even my husband can make it)

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by Stock Your Home — Foil Pans with Lids – 9×13 Aluminum Pans with Covers – 25 Foil Pans and 25 Foil Lids – Disposable Food Containers Great for Baking, Cooking, Heating, Storing, Prepping Food

by Stock Your Home

Tips

You can substitute cheese tortellini if you cannot find ravioli. Both work in Crockpot or oven.

Adding a vegetable like Spinach or Zucchini makes this a one pot easy meal.

Of course a fresh salad goes great too.

For soup add tomato sauce. Be careful not to overcook your pasta or it will disintegrate. Add pasta last and top bowl with cheese.

NATIONAL EAT YOUR BEANS DAY

July 2, 2026June 22, 2026Jensperspectiveblog Leave a comment

National Eat Your Beans Day is a “live healthy” holiday observed every year on July 3rd. This day celebrates the bean vegetable in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Beans (legumes) date back to the early seventh millennium BCE, making them one of the longest-cultivated plants.

As they were seven millennia ago, today, beans are a significant source of protein. If you’re looking for complex carbohydrates, folate, fiber, and iron, eat some beans. They are excellent sources for each of those. A very healthy choice for any meal or snack, they are also an excellent source of fiber, low in fat and high in complex carbohydrates, folate, and iron.

There are approximately 40,000 bean varieties in the world.
Only a fraction of these varieties are mass-produced for regular consumption.

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Let’s Snack!

That’s a lot of beans! How do we know which ones to choose? Snacking on chickpeas provides us with one of the best choices. Also known as garbanzo beans, these legumes pack a whopping 12.5 grams of fiber, 71 % of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of folate, 84% RDI of Manganese, and 26% RDI of Iron per serving in 1 cup. Add chickpeas to stews like you would any bean. However, they also roast nicely with your favorite herbs and spices for a delicious and healthy snack.

Try this Hummus Recipe for a tasty treat snack or treat. Pst… don’t tell anyone. They’ll never believe something this good is also good for you. If your pressed for time get the canned versions for chili’s, Stews, or even making hummus. These will save you so much time when making weeknight meals.

Another tremendous snacking bean is the soybean. For more tips on bean varieties, visit www.medicalnewstoday.com.

With so many choices, celebrating with beans should be a delicious success!

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalEatYourBeansDay

Try some great recipes from our page. Minestrone, White Chicken Chili, and Jens Easy Chili are favorites. Use #NationalEatYourBeansDay to share on social media.

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NATIONAL RAVIOLI DAY

March 19, 2026February 3, 2026Jensperspectiveblog 4 Comments

On National Ravioli Day, celebrate a pasta that is fun and versatile. Observed on March 20th each year, pasta lovers dive in on this food holiday.

Ravioli are a traditional type of Italian filled pasta, made up of a filling sealed between two layers of thin egg pasta dough. Imagine a small meatball tucked, snug inside two cozy layers of delicious pasta dough. That’s basically what ravioli is. Although, a variety of fillings from cheesy to meaty take up that cozy spot in the dough. And the ravioli are usually served in either a broth or with a pasta sauce. A variety of filling recipes are available from cheesy to meaty.

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While ravioli often serves as the main course, it can also be a side dish or even an appetizer. Many popular recipes bake or deep fry the ravioli. With chocolate added to the pasta or cream cheese stuffing and a caramel sauce, the dish quickly becomes a dessert!

Ravioli can be homemade or may be purchased fresh or frozen in grocery stores. In the United States, Chef Boyardee popularized the canned ravioli. This ravioli is filled with either beef or processed cheese and served in a tomato, tomato-meat or tomato-cheese sauce.

We turn to St. Louis, Missouri, to learn about the toasted ravioli. By accident, a ravioli fell into the fryer at Oldani’s back in the 1940s. And as with accidents, the crisp ravioli earned a place on the menu. Or so the story goes. If so, it’s a delicious one.

More?

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalRavioliDay

Ravioli always sparks an appetite, so be sure to mix up your favorite sauce and pasta combinations. Try your hand at homemade. Make it a family affair.

Lazy Lasagna (with ravioli)

Use #NationalRavioliDay to post on social media.

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NATIONAL CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE DAY

March 16, 2026March 13, 2026Jensperspectiveblog 1 Comment

On March 17th National Corned Beef and Cabbage Day coincides with St. Patrick’s Day in the United States.

To “corn” something is simply to preserve it in a salty brine (the term corn refers to the coarse grains of salt used for curing).

Corned beef is a salt-cured beef product. In the traditional Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage recipes, salt pork or bacon joint was used instead of corned beef. Sometime in the mid-1800s when the Irish immigrated to America, they found that Jewish corned beef was very similar in texture to bacon joint (pork). As a result, corned beef was used as a replacement for the bacon when preparing corned beef and cabbage meals. Soon after, Irish-Americans began having Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day.

Corned beef and cabbage remains a popular food in many areas of the United States.

Ultimate Corned Beef & Cabbage: 92 Flavorful Recipes
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In Ireland today, the serving of corned beef is geared toward tourist consumption. Most Irish in Ireland do not identify it as native cuisine.

In the United States, corned beef is often purchased ready to eat in delicatessens.
Smoking corned beef and adding spice mixes produces a smoked meat such as pastrami.
Corned beef can be found sold in minced forms and cans.

HOW TO OBSERVE #CornedBeefAndCabbageDay

Celebrate with one of the traditional dishes in the United States. You can make it yourself. So stay in and have a quiet night of it. Corned Beef, Cabbage, potatoes, green beer and Irish coffee. Irish Skillet is a good option to, and not just on St Patricks Day.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

We make ours in the Crockpot. Layering potatoes and carrots on top of the beef. Place cabbage on top and add water and spices. Turn on low for about 6 hours.

Use #CornedBeefAndCabbageDay to post on social media.

Jen's Perspective Blog

Love, laugh, live! Life to the fullest.

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