Oh. My. Goodness. One of my passions is Greek food. One of my favorite recipes, that I remember from a high school friend's Mom, is Pastitsio. I love the meat and pasta layers (not a huge fan of the bechemel layers, so I've omitted for this recipe). In my craving for greek food this evening, I decided to make an Aldi friendly version. And, it was DELICIOUS. TOO delicious NOT to share!!!
I know this recipe is SIMILAR to the Spaghetti Pie....but I guarantee the taste is soooo different. :)
I hope you enjoy as much we did.
Pastitsio
1 box Reggiano Penne Reggatte pasta
1 container Friendly Farms Cottage Cheese
1 lb Fit & Active Ground Beef (or ground turkey, which ever you prefer, I used Turkey)
1 8oz block Happy Valley Farms Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1/4 Cup Friendly Farms Fresh Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 Jar Reggiano Pasta Sauce (choose your favorite brand)
2 Tsp Stonehill Classics Italian Seasoning Blend
1 Golden Hen Egg
1 Tbs dried minced garlic
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare pasta according to directions on the package. Drain & set aside to cool.
Brown ground beef (or turkey) on the stove, drain any excess fat. Add minced garlic and pasta sauce. Stir until mixed well and remove from heat.
While meat is browning, in a large bowl, mix together cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and egg. Stir in Italian seasoning blend.
Stir the cottaqe cheese mixture into the cooled pasta. Mix very well.
Press this mixture into a 13 X 9 Lasagna pan. Pour beef/sauce mixture over the pasta. Cover with foil and bake for about an hour until very bubbly. (you can remove the foil at about 45 mins and bake uncovered).
Allow to sit about 5-10 minutes before diving into - and oh yes - you will dive!
