Greek Macaroni Bake Food

GREEK MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°; bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil; add in macaroni and cook, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes until al dente; drain and place in a large bowl.
• To blanch the spinach: bring 4 quarts salted water to a simmer over med-high heat; have ready a large bowl of ice water and a slotted spoon; add spinach to simmering water (in three or 4 batches) and submerge it.
• Let cook about 15 seconds, remove with the slotted spoon, and plunge into the ice water; let spinach cool completely, drain it, and squeeze out the excess water; if the leaves are large, chop them into bite-sized pieces; set aside.
• In a blender or food processor, puree the feta cheese with the milk, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper (blend in two batches, if needed); this will not be completely smooth; there will be very small chunks of cheese remaining.
• Stir the cheese mixture into the cooked macaroni; then add the minced rosemary and thyme, garlic, red pepper flakes, olives, cherry tomatoes, and blanched spinach.
• Transfer mixture to a 13x9 inch baking dish; sprinkle with parmesan cheese and the mixed herbs.
• Bake on the middle shelf 25-30 minutes until the pasta is heated through and the top is slightly browned.

GREEK MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• Brown beef and onions. Drain fat. Stir in next 3 ingredients. Set aside.
• In med. saucepan, combine next 2 ingredients. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over med. heat until mixture thickens (DO NOT BOIL).
• Beat next 3 ingredients. Gradually stir in sauce. Add macaroni. Spoon 1/2 macaroni mixture into 2-quart casserole dish. Cover with meat mixture and top with remaining macaroni.
• Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

GREEK PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook beef and lamb over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the onion, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and thyme. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. , Stir in sugar and cinnamon. Simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes longer., Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions; drain. Stir into meat mixture. , Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Cover and bake at 325° for 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until heated through. Freeze option: Cool unbaked casserole; cover and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 325°. Bake casserole as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.,

GREEK MEAT PASTA (MAKARONIA ME KIMA)

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir ground beef until browned, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, onion, water, tomato paste, cinnamon, sugar, cayenne, salt, and pepper; stir to combine. Simmer meat sauce over medium-low heat until flavors combine, 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Pour meat sauce over rotini; mix well. Pour half the pasta mixture into a casserole dish; sprinkle with half the Mizithra cheese and half the mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining pasta mixture; sprinkle remaining Mizithra cheese and mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 40 minutes.

GREEK MACARONI & HAMBURGER CASSEROLE (MAKARONIA PHOURNISTA)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Put water, salt, olive oil and in a large pot and bring to a boil.
• Add macaroni, cook until well done (9-10 minutes), and drain.
• Melt butter in sauce pan, add tomato paste, stir and mix well.
• Add sugar, salt, cinnamon, oregano, orange rind, orange juice, bay leaves, and cloves, and stir well.
• Continue stirring while slowly adding warm water.
• Cover and simmer until only 2/3 of the liquid remains.
• Season beef with salt and pepper, and sauté in olive oil until meat is dry, breaking up meat while browning, so it will not be lumpy when done (8-10 minutes).
• Add onions and garlic and continue to sauté until onion is yellow (3-5 minutes).
• Pour wine over this mixture, stir well, cover tightly, and set aside.
• When only 2/3 of the liquid remains in the tomato sauce, add the ground beef mixture.
• Continue to simmer covered until sauce is thickened.
• Keep hot.
• Put layers in a baking pan in the following order: (1) macaroni (2) meat sauce (3) kephalotiri cheese.
• Keep layering until everything is used up, with the last layer being the meat/tomato sauce.
• Cover the top layer with a single layer of kaseri cheese.
• Bake until the Kasseri is melted (2-3 minutes).
• Serve hot.

GREEK MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In microwave safe bowl or sauce pan combine milk, cream cheese, ricotta, Parmesan, feta, mozzarella/cheddar and Greek seasoning.
• Blend well and heat stirring to prevent burning.
• Add spinach, mushrooms, olives; stir thoroughly.
• Spray no-stick spray in baking dish, spread out macaroni and cover with cheese/veggie mix
• Bake for 35 minutes.

GREEK CHEESE AND MACARONI

Steps:

• Boil rigatoni 10 minutes.
• Drain.
• Mix milk and whip cream together.
• Set aside 1 cup.
• In the same pan that you cooked the rigatoni pour in milk and whip cram mixture. Add salt and butter. Cook until the butter melts.
• Add rigatoni and cook slowly until the mixture gets thick.
• Spread half of mixture in greased 9 x 13 pan.
• Sprinkle with ½ cup parmesan.
• Add remaining rigatoni.
• Add remaining parmesan.
• Pour the one cup of milk and whip cream on top.
• DO NOT STIR.
• Bake 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• I like to bake until top gets a little brown.

GREEK LAMB & MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook for 10 mins until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min more, then tip in the lamb mince, turn up the heat and brown, breaking up the mince with a wooden spoon.
• Once the lamb is browned, add the cinnamon, crumbled stock cube, tomatoes and oregano. Stir well and simmer for 15 mins, covered, then for 15 mins, uncovered, until the sauce has thickened and the tomatoes have cooked down.
• Meanwhile, cook the macaroni following pack instructions. Drain well. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Mix together the ricotta, most of the parmesan and the milk with plenty of seasoning, and stir into the macaroni. Tip the mince into a large baking dish, top with the macaroni mixture, and scatter over the remaining parmesan. Bake for 30 mins until golden and bubbling. Serve hot with garlic bread, if you like.

CONTEST-WINNING GREEK PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, chicken, tomato sauce, tomatoes, spinach, olives, onion, green pepper, basil and oregano. , Transfer to a 13x9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake, uncovered, at 400° until heated through and cheese is melted. If desired, sprinkle with oregano or basil. Freeze option: Cool unbaked casserole; cover and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 400°. Bake casserole as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.

GREEK PASTA AND BEEF

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in the tomato sauce, water and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. , Drain macaroni and place in a large bowl. Stir in egg and cheese; set aside. , For sauce, in a large saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour and cinnamon until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into eggs; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Stir in cheese. , In a greased 3-qt. baking dish, spread half of the macaroni mixture. Top with beef mixture and remaining macaroni mixture. Pour sauce over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.