Pastitsio-My Big Fat Greek Casserole

This is a good winter dish that can be made ahead of time. It's warm winter spices make it perfect for a cold snowy day. The flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg enrich the meat sauce and nutmeg perks up the white sauce.  It's a lot like lasagna, but with an unexpected new taste.

Layers of pasta, meat sauce, white sauce and cheese.

Gather ingredients.

 Saute onions and garlic in butter until tender.

 Brown the beef and add remaining ingredients.

 Let simmer uncovered.

 Start white sauce with 3T butter.

 Stir in 3T flour and cook 1 minute. Add salt and pepper.

 Whisk in 2C milk.

 Bring to a boil and whisk until thickened.

 Remove from heat, then add 1/4C cheese and 2 eggs.

Whisk until smooth and stir in a pinch of nutmeg.

 Pasta pot, meat sauce pot and white sauce pot, ready to assemble the casserole.

 Drain cooked ziti, return to the pot and stir in 2T butter and 1/2C cheese.

 Spoon half the pasta into a greased casserole. Spoon the meat sauce on top.

 Top with remaining pasta.

 Pour the white sauce over all. Tap the casserole to help the sauce settle. Sprinkle with 1/4C cheese.

 Bake at 320 for 45 minutes until golden.

 Let sit for 10 minutes.

 Cut into squares.

 Serves 6.

Love the leftovers!

Serve with a big fat Greek salad and crusty bread.

Pastitsio

Meat Sauce

1 to 1-12 lbs ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T butter

1 t salt

1/4 t pepper

2 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1 t oregano

6-oz can tomato paste

8-oz tomato sauce

1/2 C red wine

Saute the onion and garlic in 2 T butter in a large sauce pot. Add meat and brown. Drain excess fat and add remaining ingredients. Simmer about 30 minutes while you prepare the white sauce and cook the pasta.

Pasta Layer

1/2 lb ziti pasta

2 T butter

1/2 C Romano cheese, grated (1 C total used)

Cook the ziti, drain and return to the pot. Add the butter and Romano and toss. Set aside.

White Sauce

3 T butter

3 T flour

1/2 t salt

dash pepper

2 C whole milk

1/4 C Romano cheese, grated

dash nutmeg

2 eggs, slightly beaten with a fork

Melt butter in sauce pot until bubbly, Add the flour and whisk for about 1 minute until cooked. Add the salt. Whisk in the milk and bring to a boil, whisking constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Whisk in the Romano and eggs, until smooth. Add dash of nutmeg.

Assemble and Bake

Grease a 9X13 casserole. Put in half the pasta. Spoon on the meat sauce. Top with remaining pasta.

Pour the white sauce over the top. Shake or tap the casserole dish to help the white sauce settle in.

Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 C Romano cheese on top.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. 

Enjoy!

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Beef Rib Roast au jus

This is called prime rib when you order it in a restaurant. It's a favorite Sunday dinner for us and it's so easy to make at home. Only four steps; 1-open the oven. 2-put the meat in. 3-close the oven. 4-take the meat out. Another nice thing is that you'll have 1-1/2 hours to do whatever else you need to do for dinner and still have plenty of time to relax with a glass of wine (HERE).

 This is a small 3-1/2 lb rib roast.  It will serve 4.
It's enough for us with leftovers.

 Season it as you like. I used garlic salt, seasoned salt, pepper and thyme.

 Rub the seasonings into the meat and pop it into a preheated 450 oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350. Roast for about 1-1/2 hours, or 20-25 minutes a pound for a small roast like this. 

 The outside will be crusty brown.

Let it rest for 10 minutes while you make 

the au jus. 

Remove most of the fat from the roasting pan and

 add 2 C water (less than the package says for

 a richer flavor) to the drippings along with the 

contents of a package of au jus mix. 

Stir over heat until it comes to a boil. 

The inside of the roast will be a perfect medium rare. Slice the roast into thick slices.

Serve the au jus ladled over the the beef slices.  Pour remaining au jus into a sauce boat, 

because you'll want more.

 Serve with your favorite potato side and a fresh vegetable. We had garlic mashed potatoes, but the Cheesy Potato Casserole is very good with this.

Enjoy!

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Pasta Carbonara

This makes a nice luncheon dish or a late night supper, or just when you don't have anything in the house...like tonight.

 You probably have all these ingredients in the house. 

 If you have bacon too, your good to go. Saute the bacon in a skillet until browned and remove to a paper towel to drain and cool.

 Saute the onions in the reserved drippings. You can also use 1/2 small onion, chopped.

Add the garlic and saute another minute until fragrant. Do not let burn.

Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

 Add to the drained pasta in the pot.

 Add the pasta mixture to the skillet along with the crumbled bacon and parmesan cheese. Toss and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Sprinkle with additional parmesan if desired. 

Serve with crusty warm French baguette and a big Caesar salad.

Pasta Carbonara

4 slices bacon

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 green onions, chopped

2 eggs, lightly beaten

4 T cream, milk or half&half

1/4 t salt & 1/4 t pepper

1/4 C parmesan cheese

2 T chopped fresh parsley

1/2 lb spaghetti

Begin cooking the spaghetti in salted water. Cook about 10  minutes. Reserve 1/4 C pasta water.
Fry the bacon until crisp. Remove onto paper towel to cool, then crumble. Reserve the drippings.
Add enough olive oil, if needed to the drippings in the skillet to make about 2T. Add the chopped onions and saute until tender. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Remove pan from heat.
Drain the pasta, but do  not rinse and return to the pot. Beat the eggs with a fork and add the milk, salt and pepper. Add to the hot pasta in the pot and stir well. Add reserved pasta water if needed. Add all the spaghetti mixture to the skillet with the onions and garlic. Add the bacon and parmesan cheese and toss to coat well. Sprinkle the top with parsley and serve in warmed pasta bowl.

Serves two

Enjoy!

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Beef with Snow Peas

We just had this for dinner tonight and it's so good! It's a favorite recipe I've had for years and I don't make it often enough. I added chopped green onions and a few red pepper flakes this time. Good additions.

Start the rice and popovers first. Those will take about 25 minutes.

 Gather the ingredients.

 Whisk the soy sauce, cornstarch, sherry, brown sugar, and ginger in a large bowl.

 Slice the flank steak against the grain into 2" long strips. 

 Season with garlic salt and pepper.

 Toss in the bowl. Rinse and trim the ends (pulling the string off) the pea pods. Lay on paper towels to dry. Diagonally slice or chop the green onions. 

 Heat 1 T oil in a large iron skillet until very hot. Add pea pods and saute for 1 minute. 

 Remove to a plate and set aside.

 Add 2-3 T oil to the pan and allow to heat again until very hot. Add the beef and let sear for 1 minute.

 Then stir the beef until browned and almost cooked, about 1-2 minutes.

 Add the green onions and pea pods and stir to cook for 1  minute.

Remove from heat.

Sprinkle on some red pepper flakes for added spice. 

 We like this with popovers because......well you don't need a reason to have popovers!

 Serve with perfect rice.

Beef with Snow Peas

1 lb flank steak

3 T soy sauce

1 T cornstarch

1 T sherry

1 t light brown sugar 

1/4 t ginger

4 T oil

garlic salt & pepper
red pepper flakes

6-8 oz fresh pea pods

Cut beef into 2" long strips against the grain.

Combine the next 5 ingredients in a bowl; add the beef and toss well. 

Rinse pea pods and trim the ends pulling off the strings.  Set aside on a paper towel to dry.

 Heat about 1 T oil in a large pan until hot and saute pea pods for about 1 minute and remove to a plate. Add more oil to the pan, about 2-3T, and allow to get very hot. Add the beef and let sear for 1 minute. 

Then stir unti browned, about 1-2 minutes. Add the pea pods and chopped green onions. Stir and cook another minute. Remove from heat and sprinkle with a little red pepper flakes to taste. 

Serve with rice.  Serves 4

note: If you have 1-1/2 lbs of beef add more ingredients by (about 50% more.

Make sure the pan is very hot so that the beef sears.

Perfect Rice

1 C rice

2 C water

1/4 t salt

Combine in a covered pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes until water is absorbed.

Fluff with a fork and remove from heat and let sit up to 10 minutes.

Popover recipe  HERE
I cut the recipe in half and made 4 popovers in custard cups.

Enjoy!

Links: My Romantic Home

Cheesy Potato Casserole

This is a delicious potato casserole that goes wonderfully with roast beef, grilled steaks, or anything!

 You can make it ahead, so it's a good potato dish when you're  entertaining.
 Leftovers are a good side dish to serve with omelets for breakfast.

Gather the ingredients.

 Pour half the melted butter over the potatoes.

 Combine the remaining ingredients (except topping) and mix into the potatoes.

 Put into a greased 9x13 baking dish.

 Combine the crushed Ritz crackers or corn flakes with the remaining butter.

Sprinkle evenly on top.

Bake until golden brown.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

30 oz bag frozen hash brown potatoes
1-1/2 sticks butter, melted, divided use

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 C chopped green onions - about 1 bunch                          

2 C sour cream - 1 pint

1 t garlic salt

1/2 t pepper

2 C grated Cheddar cheese - 8 oz.
topping

2 C corn flakes or
Ritz crackers,(1 sleve) crushed
remaining butter

In a large bowl combine the potatoes with half the melted butter. Combine the remaining ingredients, (except for the topping) and mix into the potatoes. Put into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Top with the combination of  crushed Ritz crackers or corn flakes and the  remaining butter. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or start in a cold 325 oven and bake for 1hr and 15 minutes.

Enjoy! 

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