Greek Macaroni Hamburger Casserole Makaronia Phournista Food

GREEK NOODLE CASSEROLE (PASTITSIO)

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the onion, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the lamb, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, 1 teaspoon salt and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and mint. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• For the sauce: Simmer the milk and cream over medium heat in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Reduce the heat to low. Add the cheese and whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the yogurt.
• Add the meat sauce to the pasta and toss well until the noodles are coated. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish. Spoon the cheese sauce evenly on top and bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped mint if using, and serve.

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 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 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.

MAKARONIA ME FETA - MACARONI AND FETA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain, toss with melted butter and 1/2 cup of crumbled feta. Set aside.
• Lightly oil a 9 x 13 casserole, sprinkle with another 1/2 cup of feta and half the croutons. Spread the macaroni mixtuer over this and top with remaining croutons.
• Beat egg whites until stiff. In a separate bowl beat egg yolks lightly. Fold egg yolks into egg whites. Stir in milk, pour mixture over macaroni.
• Sprinkle with remaining feta and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
• To Prepare Croutons:.
• Cut half a loaf of day old bread into small bits and toss in a skillet over medium-high heat with 2 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp of butter. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 250°F Store, in covered container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

HAMBURGER MACARONI CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. In a large saucepan, combine cheese and milk. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in the beef, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and cayenne; remove from the heat., Drain macaroni and stir into beef mixture. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover and stir mixture; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly.