By Spent Saturday with Tom restaining the deck. Eight hours. Him on his knees with a brush, me on my knees with a brush, working in parallel rows, neither of us talking except to say things like "missed a spot" and "hand me the rag" and "this stain smells terrible." At lunch we ate sandwiches Linda brought out and drank beer from cans and sat on the unstained half of the deck and watched the neighborhood. A kid rode by on a bike. A dog barked. Someone was grilling somewhere.
These are the days with Tom that I will remember when I'm old. Not the big days — the birthdays, the holidays, the Packers games. The small days. The days where we do a job together and the job is the conversation and the silence is comfortable and the work is its own kind of love. Tom doesn't say much. He doesn't need to. His presence is the compliment. I'm learning to be the same way.
Megan came to pick me up at five. She saw Tom and me, paint-stained, tired, standing on the finished deck with beers, and she took a photo. She didn't show it to me until later — two Kowalski men, same posture, same squint, same beer in hand. "You look exactly like your father," she said. I said, "Thank you." I meant it more than she knows.
Made a pot roast for Sunday dinner — classic, simple, the kind of meal you put in the oven and forget about for four hours. Chuck roast, potatoes, carrots, onion, beef broth. The meat falls apart with a fork. The vegetables absorb all the flavor. The gravy makes itself. This is the meal Babcia would have made if she'd been born in Iowa instead of Krakow. Universal comfort food. No borders. Just warmth.
The pot roast was already in the oven when Megan showed me that photo — two men, same posture, same quiet — and I didn’t feel like doing anything complicated after that. Some Sundays call for a meal that just handles itself, and this no-bake lasagna has become that meal for us: no boiling noodles, no fussing over layers, just assemble it, let it do its thing, and sit down together. It’s the kind of recipe that fits a day where the work was already done and the table is the reward.
No-Bake Lasagna
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 9 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Brown the meat. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef and onion until the beef is no longer pink, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Build the sauce. Stir in the marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
- Mix the ricotta layer. In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese, beaten egg, and half the mozzarella (1 cup) until combined.
- Layer the lasagna. Spread 1 cup of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Lay 3 no-boil noodles over the sauce. Spread half the ricotta mixture over the noodles, then top with 1 cup of meat sauce. Repeat layers: 3 noodles, remaining ricotta, 1 cup sauce. Finish with the last 3 noodles and the remaining meat sauce.
- Top and cover. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and all the Parmesan evenly over the top. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake covered. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. The noodles will cook through in the sauce—no pre-boiling needed.
- Uncover and finish. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and lightly golden. Let rest 10 minutes before cutting. Garnish with parsley if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 420 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 36g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 780mg