Guest Contributor - My husband Paul's Pastitsio

Featured Ingredient:  Diced Tomatoes

Now that I've gone back full time into the workforce, I don't have as much time to devote to my blog. My cooking is pretty much reserved for the weekends and my husband takes over during the week.  This basically means manly meals, that are usually calorie-laden and full of fat (which usually also means good). Most are not the best choice for my figure, but beat the hell out of having to start from scratch at 7:30 p.m. (after walking the dog).  Otherwise I have to go my repetoire of under 5 minute meals - because I'm starving. One can only have so many egg and cheese sandwiches and soup.

Now that my husband is the weekday chef, it seems he has blogging aspirations. Recently I found pictures of my husband's Pastitsio recipe on the camera, and figured that is a perfect example of Uncanny Goodness.  To me it's the Greek offspring of beefaroni and moussaka. Aside from finding entry ideas for my blog, I've also been treated to random photos of me filling my bird feeder in pajamas, my butt, and other candid beauties. (Please don't mind that I don't share these).

Pastitsio is a great Sunday dinner. I like to reserve Sunday's for something that will deliver multiple servings.  Then I know when I come on Monday and maybe even Tuesday, I just have to nuke my way to quick and satisfying meal. Making hamburgers for example is a not a good use of time, as they don't reheat well the next day and after everyone finished there are no leftovers.  Stews fit this bill perfectly.  But as the weather has gotten a little warmer, I've moved on to casseroles which are also a perfect candidate.  A delicious dining experience can be derived from a simple mish mosh of ingredients.

For the macaroni
1 1/2 cups of elbow macaroni
1 egg

For the beef mix
1.3 pounds of 85/15 ground beef
1 onion diced
2 cloves of garlic
1 – 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 – 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes undrained
1 TB red wine vinegar
1TB chili powder
½ tsp allspice
¼ tsp cinnamon

For the white sauce
3 TB butter
3 TB flour
¼ tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg beaten
½ cup Italian blend shredded cheese

Salt & Pepper as needed

Preheat oven to 350F

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook macaroni until al dente. Drain. Combine pasta and 1 beaten egg.

Meat Sauce: Cook ground beef, onion and garlic together in a skillet until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat.  Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, vinegar, chili powder, allspice, cinnamon.  Bring to boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.

White Sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium and stir in flour and pepper.  Add the milk all at once. Whisk and stir until smooth thick and bubbly.  Beat an egg in a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup.  Slowly add hot liquid to temper the mixture - to ensure not scrambling the egg. Return egg mixture to the saucepan, stir in 1/2 cup shredded cheese.

In a square baking dish, add 1/2 the pasta mixture.  Next add all the meat sauce.  Then add the remainder of the pasta and top with the white sauce.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.  Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.  The white sauce will firm when cooked.

Moussaka Personal Pizzas



Tomato Sauce

 Featured Ingredient:

Del Monte Tomato Sauce

Sometimes I feel like I am playing an eternal game of "Chopped" in my kitchen. What can I make with what I have. I make it a challenge to use up as much as I have without having to go buy too many more ingredients. Like most mom's we are trying to stretch our dollar, so my strategy is probably no different than a lot of you out there. My ingredients need to be a bit more traditional though, unlike the Food Network show. Kudos to those chefs who make something edible out of a basket full of snapper, cotton candy, salsify, and mache.

It was Friday and I wanted pizza. I had sausage but decided to go a different direction. I had ground lamb and figured I could take the base of a Moussaka recipe and use that as a topping, as both pizza and moussaka call for a tomato product and have a creamy cheese like finish.

Here's the recipe:

16 oz. Refrigerated prepared Fresh Pizza Dough. (Buy the stuff in the plastic bag)
1 tsp Olive Oil
3/4 lb Ground Lamb
1 small onion (about a 1/2 cup)
3 small cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves (not ground)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 can Del Monte Sauce
1 ball Sorrento Fresh Mozzarella
1/2 cup Romano Cheese
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Cornmeal
Cooking Spray

Heat olive oil in skillet.  Add onion and sautee until almost translucent.  Add garlic and sautee for 2 minutes.  Add lamb to pan. Season lamb with cinnamon, oregano, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.  Sautee lamb until browned and cooked through. Set aside until dough is rolled out.

Meanwhile:

Preheat oven to 450F

Thinly slice mozzarella cheese and grate Romano cheese and Heat Tomato Sauce in a small saucepan.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and spread a light dusting of cornmeal to prevent dough from sticking.

Separate Pizza dough into 4 equal sections and roll into a ball.  Roll out each ball into a disc about a 1/8 inch thick.  Make a border by building up the side.

Put on baking sheet.  Assemble Pizzas.**  First put sauce;  then Lamb Mixture; then Mozzarella cheese, top with Romano cheese.

Bake about 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is thoroughly melted and bubbly.

**(Cook's note: I put the dough in the oven for 5 minutes before assembly to get it going, as I've had experiences where I've had the pizza but the dough that was under the sauce gets wet and never rises well.  The dough does start to rise in the middle, and you lose some of your well, but I punched it down and gained some of it back and was very happy with the end product.  You can also assemble it on the raw dough.)



Moussaka Pizza

Hot and bubbly.  Right out of the oven.