Quick Pastitsio

Pastitsio (Greek: παστίτσιο; [paˈstitsio]), sometimes spelled Pastichio, is a Greek and Mediterranean baked pasta dish including ground beef and béchamel sauce in its best-known form. Pastitsio is a version of the Italiandish pasticcio di pasta, also known as lasagne al forno.


When I found this dish I wasn't sure what Pastitsio meant but it sounded good and decided to make it. It really isn't that different from other recipes that I have made just has a weird name. I love pasta of any kind and will eat it any chance I can get. This also is a great recipe to freeze and the serving size 1 1/3 cups is a pretty decent size! Again I substituted the ground sirloin for ground turkey. Next time I make this dish I would add more tomatoes because I feel for my preference there could have been more. 

Quick Pastitsio
Source Cooking Light
Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked penne (tube-shaped pasta)
• Cooking spray 
• 1 pound ground sirloin ( or ground turkey if you wish)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion (love onion so if you do too put in a little extra)
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 cups fat-free milk 
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained 
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese 
• 1 (3-ounce) package fat-free cream cheese 
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 
  
• Preparation
• 1. Preheat broiler.
• 2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
• 3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add beef to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove beef from pan; drain. Wipe pan clean with paper towels. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add beef; sprinkle with salt. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in milk, tomatoes, and cream cheeses, stirring until smooth; bring to a simmer. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in pasta.
• 4. Spoon pasta mixture into a 13 x 9-inch broiler-safe baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over top. Broil 4 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with parsley.

Look at all that creamy pasta and bubbly Cheese.

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