Turkey Pastitio

Every time I make this dish I have always wondered what pastitsio meant and how to pronounce it, but never did anything about it. Well, I finally decided to look it up and discovered it is a Greek dish that consists of macaroni, ground lamb, grated cheese and tomatoes topped with a béchamel sauce.

Even though I am still not sure how to properly pronounce the name, I do know that it is a delicious dish and it reheats very well. It is rare that a dish reheats so well as this one, which makes it even better.

Turkey Pastitio

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 15 ounce can no salt added tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Cheese Sauce

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Cook macaroni according to package directions and drain. Combine macaroni, cheese and egg.
3. In a large skillet, over medium high heat, cook turkey and onions until turkey is cooked through. Drain fat, if needed.
4. Stir in tomato sauce, oregano, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. To make cheese sauce, melt butter in a medium saucepan, then stir in the flour until smooth.
6. Gradually stir in the milk and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
7. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese until melted.
8. Spoon half of the macaroni mixture into prepared baking dish. Top with meat mixture and then remaining macaroni mixture. Spoon cheese sauce over the top.
9. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!!

Serves: 6
Calories: 732
Total Fat: 27.6g
   Saturated: 14.1g
   Polyunsaturated: 0g
   Monounsaturated: 0g
   Trans: 0g
Cholesterol: 167.1mg
Sodium: 643.8mg
Potassium: 109.5mg
Total Carbs: 69.2g
   Dietary Fiber: 4.5g
   Sugars: 9.1g
Protein: 49.6g
Vitamin A: 27.6%
Vitamin C: 6.3%
Calcium: 46.9%
Iron: 20.4%
*The nutritional information will vary slightly depending on the brands you use.
*Adapted from Taste of Home's Casserole Cookbook.