Recipe: Juicy Pastitsio (Greek Pasta Bake)

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Before you jump to Pastitsio (Greek Pasta Bake) recipe, you may want to read this short interesting healthy tips about Use Food to Boost Your Mood.

Mostly, people have been conditioned to think that "comfort" foods are bad for the body and have to be avoided. At times, if your comfort food is candy or another junk food, this is very true. Other times, however, comfort foods can be totally healthy and it's good for you to eat them. There are a number of foods that, when you consume them, can boost your mood. If you feel a little bit down and you need an emotional pick me up, try some of these.

Eggs, would you believe, are terrific for helping you fight depression. Just be sure that you don't throw away the yolk. The egg yolk is the part of the egg that matters most in terms of helping elevate your mood. Eggs, especially the egg yolks, are full of B vitamins. B vitamins can truly help you raise your mood. This is because they help improve the function of your neural transmitters, the components of your brain that control your mood. Try to eat an egg and feel a lot better!

Now you realize that junk food isn't necessarily what you have to eat when you are wanting to help your moods get better. Try these tips instead!

We hope you got benefit from reading it, now let's go back to pastitsio (greek pasta bake) recipe. You can have pastitsio (greek pasta bake) using 18 ingredients and 13 steps. Here is how you cook it.

The ingredients needed to cook Pastitsio (Greek Pasta Bake):

1. You need 2 lb of ground beef or lamb.
2. Get 1 large of onion - diced.
3. Take 2 clove of garlic - minced.
4. Take 1 cup of tomato sauce (approx 1 - 8 oz can).
5. Get 1/2 cup of dry red wine - I use shiraz.
6. Use 1 can of petite diced tomatoes (14.5 oz can).
7. Take 1 tbsp of parsley.
8. Use 1 tsp of salt.
9. Use 1 tsp of cinnamon.
10. You need 1/4 tsp of nutmeg.
11. You need 1/4 tsp of pepper.
12. Prepare 1 lb of pasta - macaroni or ziti.
13. Get 4 of eggs - divided.
14. Get 1 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese - divided.
15. Provide 2 tbsp of olive oil.
16. Provide 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick).
17. Provide 1 cup of ap flour.
18. Prepare 3 cup of milk.

Instructions to make Pastitsio (Greek Pasta Bake):

1. Preheat oven to 375° and grease/spray a 13x9 baking dish..
2. In a large skillet - brown ground beef and onion. Drain. Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes..
3. Add in tomato sauce, wine, can of undrained diced tomatoes and seasonings. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste - adjust seasoning if desired..
4. While meat is simmering - cook pasta. Do not overcook - pasta should be just shy of al dente..
5. Drain pasta. Return pasta to pot and mix in olive oil, 2 beaten eggs and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese..
6. Now start the bechamel/white sauce. In a large saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add in flour and whisk until it's a smooth paste. Cook for a minute or two but do not brown..
7. Slowly add in milk and cook for a few minutes, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens..
8. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt, pepper & a bit of nutmeg. Mix in 2 beaten eggs & remaining 1 cup of parmesan cheese. This will be a very thick sauce - if it's too thick to work with you can add a bit more milk..
9. Assembly time : ) Spread half of the pasta mixture evenly on the bottom of the casserole dish - make sure bottom is completely covered..
10. Evenly spread the entire meat mixture over bottom pasta layer..
11. Top meat with remaining pasta..
12. Pour the bechamel/sauce on top of noodles. With a spoon spread sauce making sure to get edges and corners. Sauce should be nearly to top of casserole dish - you may have a little leftover..
13. Bake for 45 minutes - top will be golden brown. Let rest for 20 minutes before cutting. Enjoy : ).

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