#155: Pastitsio

Yours probably won't brown up this much.  When I got home from church Brian said he was broiling the cheese because it wasn't browning....it's not supposed to since it's a milk/flour/egg mix topping.  : )

I ripped this recipe out of my taste of home magazine.  I was a little leary of making it because it called for ground lamb...which I do not eat.  But I figured I could subsitute one bird for another and used ground chicken instead. 

Chloe loved this, Allison liked this, and Brian and I both totally cleared our plates (we must have liked it!) and would totally eat it again, but thought the cinnamon gave it an different taste, as did the cheese topping.  Then after dinner tonight, as I was looking over the recipe I realized I was supposed to use grated parmesan....I used shredded Mexican blend cheese.  Might have made a difference!  We'll try this again though and hopefully will enjoy it as much as we did tonight.

Ingredients

1 package (7 ounces) uncooked elbow macaroni
1 pound ground beef or lamb (I used ground chicken)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (8 ounces) Hunt’s® Tomato Sauce
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional (I added 2 shakes, next time I'll omit)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
3 tablespoons butter (I used smart balance butter)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups 2% milk (I used skim)
1 egg, beaten

Directions
Cook macaroni according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, oregano, pepper and cinnamon if desired; heat through.  (I did this step and then froze the filling until ready to use)

Drain macaroni; place half of macaroni in a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese. Layer with meat mixture and remaining macaroni. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour and remaining salt until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of the hot mixture into egg; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in remaining cheese. Pour sauce over macaroni.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 4 servings.

My version = 14 ww+ pts for 1/4 of the pan (however, I used 2/3 of the butter/flour/egg mixture, so it actually was even less than that)