Patitsio...it's what's for dinner!

Tonight dinner was on me. I have venison burger thawing in the fridge, what shall I make? I see this as a challenge and a game. No one likes something new and different more than myself. The kids are always worried when I have tried something new and spend dinner time picking at their plate like they are disecting a frog.

I like to make new dishes and not get caught in the same rut. I pull out the Better Homes & Gardens Cook book and find the tab for "meat". The recipe for Patitsio (pa-STEE-tsee-oh) catches my eye. It sounds ethnic and I have most of the ingredients. It is Greek and translates to "messed up" or "messy kitchen" and  "macaroni béchamel". The Greek word pastitsio derives from the Italian pasticcio, which loosely translates to a mess or a hodgepodge. Sounds fabulous for this "one armed chef"!

Here is the recipe that I used...

Heat oven to 350*F


1 lb ground beef (I used ground venison)
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 T garlic finely chopped


brown in a  deep frying pan. Once cooked add

1 8oz tomato sauce
1/4 C. red wine
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
2 T of fresh Parsley snipped
1/2 tsp dried Oregano flakes
salt and pepper










































































Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 10 min.

Pour meat mixture into

1 beaten egg


In a different saucepan

boil 1 C. of macaroni noodles. Drain and add to
2 beaten eggs
1/4 cp parmesan cheese
1/4 cp milk

Make the gravy sauce in another saucepan

3 T butter,  melted
mix in with a wisk
3 T flour or a gluten free all purpose flour
add
1 1/2 C milk
bring to a boil stirring and thickening. boil one minute more.
stir in 1/4 C grated parmesan cheese

 Layer in a 8x8x2 baking dish

1/2 of the macaroni mixture
all of the meat mixture
rest of the macaroni mixture
all of the gravy sauce mixture
sprinkle cinnamon lightly on the top.

 

Cook for 45 min. and let rest for 5 min.

                                        
I really liked this. Mark gave it a 4 out of 5 stars and Molly picked at the meat and gave the rest of the "messy kitchen" to her dad. I found as I was cooking this that the meat mixture was divine and thrown over some buttered angel hair pasta would have been sublime! This was suggested by Mark and I totally agree.

So, two recipes out of one! Perfecto!