Pastichio

I enjoy cooking from a variety of cuisines, and Greek is one, although not one of my more common efforts. But, one decision have made many times with success is pastichio, a sort of Greek version of macaroni and cheese with ground beef for a filling layer.

So, when a coworker mentioned not liking Greek food, I asked him what he had tried and all he could think of was Gyros. So I described pastichio and he seemed interested and I decided to make some today so I take a bit extra to offer him tomorrow.

There are many slight variations on the same recipe, but I think the one I have used the most is from Greek Cooking For All Seasons, by the Holy Trinity Church in Lowell, Massachusetts. My honey doesn't think this is it because there aren't any food spots on the page :)

I made some slight changes to the recipe out of accident or necessity and here it is:

Ingredients:
1 box (about 13 ounces) whole wheat macaroni
2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 pound ground chuck or round
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
pinch of salt, pepper, nutmeg
5 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
4 cups milk, divided (3 cups and 1 cup)
3/4 pound grated Romano cheese

1. cook macaroni in salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

2. Heat 4 Tbsp butter in large skillet over medium high heat. Saute chopped onion and garlic until translucent and golden brown.

3. Add ground meat and break up the clumps. Season with salt, cinnamon, allspice. Stir often until it is browned and no longer pink.

4. Add the tomato sauce and stir together. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes while you prepare the crema sauce.

5. In a 2 quart cooking pot, melt the other 4 Tbsp butter and stir in the flour to make a roux.

6. When this is bubbling, pour in 3 cups scalded milk (heat almost to a boil so it begins to form a film, then remove from heat and stir till smooth). I actually used cold milk, which I added 1 cup at a time and heated until it almost boiled and started to thicken.

7. Beat 3 eggs lightly and slowly spoon about 2 cups milk into the eggs, beating constantly. Return mixture to remaining sauce in pan, add 1/2 of grated cheese and beat smooth.

8. Season with pinch of salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Set aside to cool.

9. Add the remaining cup of milk, cheese, and 2 beaten eggs to the macaroni and mix well. Butter 11 x 14 (or 9 x 13) pan or spray with cooking spray. Add 1/2 cup of the macaroni.

10. Cover with the meat sauce.

11. Add the remaining macaroni.

12. Over all this pour the crema sauce.

13. Spread the sauce around to cover the macaroni.

14. Dot with butter (I forgot this) and sprinkle with paprika, if desired.

15. Bake 55 minutes in 350F oven.

16. Let it cool about 15-20 minutes to set. Serve and enjoy!

I'm not sure what I did different this time, but the top layer was especially fluffy and souffle-like. Perhaps it was from beating the eggs a lot and beating in some air.

It was good anyway. One son shared with us and the other snuck a serving out of the refrigerator to eat, so it passes muster.

Chicken Thighs with Garlic Sauce

After enjoying beef with garlic sauce at a Chinese restaurant a couple days ago, I decided to come up with a recipe to share with my friends. A quick Google search turned up this recipe

Bobby's Chicken in Garlic Sauce

But, I thought it could use some improvement. In particular, I like a variety of vegetables rather than just broccoli. Different colored vegetables add to the visual appeal and provide different nutrients. Also, some thinly sliced fresh ginger adds its flavor to the cooking oil and gives a little variety to the seasonings. So, here is my version.

If you'd like it a little less sweet, cut the honey in half.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into thin slices or small chunks
     (I skinned and boned about 3 thighs for the recipe)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (divided)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 oz snow peas, rinsed
4 oz asparagus spears
         (trim off the bottom inch or so, then chop into 2 inch pieces or leave whole)
1 red bell pepper, sliced into slivers and then cut in half
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 ripe tomato, cut into chunks
4 thin slices fresh ginger

Step 1 

Combine the garlic, soy sauce, water, honey, 1 Tbsp of the oil, cornstarch, pepper and pepper flakes in a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Be especially careful to break up any lumps of the cornstarch. Stir the chicken into the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (I was in a hurry and marinated it for about 20 minutes, but more time gives it more flavor.)

Step 2

In a large wok, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the ginger slices and stir fry for about a minute, then quickly remove the ginger and set aside. Remove the chicken from the marinade with a slotted spoon and add the chicken to the wok. Stir fry for about 3 minutes or until done. Remove and set aside in a serving bowl.

Step 3

Add the ginger and all the vegetables except the tomato. Stir fry quickly for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato and stir fry for another 30 seconds. Quickly remove and add to the chicken.

Step 4

Add the reserved marinade to the wok. Heat to a bowl and cook for a few seconds until it starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and pour it over the chicken and vegetables. Stir them together and serve over steamed rice.

ENJOY!!!

Makes about 4 servings.

Cherry Berry Smoothie

Get Ready to Blend!

Today was a day off, so I took advantage to get in a walk around the Academy.

This was my longest walk in a couple months, so my time was a little slow, but not bad. Since we got a great buy on cherries and strawberries at the local farmer's market yesterday, I decided to make a smoothie for a light snack before starting to prepare supper.

This recipe is based on one from my smartphone weight-loss app, Noom, which suggested it as one of my daily tasks.

Watermelon-Berry Smoothie

Ingredients

1 cup ice

1 cup watermelon chunks (I substituted 1 cup cherries)

½ cup blueberries

1 cup strawberries, halved

1 banana, sliced

2 tsp calorie-free or low-calorie sweetener (I just left this out)

1 ½ cup non-fat milk (I used 1% milk)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Sliced and pitted cherries

When I helped make Waldorf salad as a kid, we would occasionally slice grapes and pick out the seeds to use them instead of raisins. Seedless grapes were just about unheard of back in the 50's. So, it didn't take long to slice and pit about 3 dozen cherries to get a cup.

Halved strawberries

 My honey had already cleaned and sliced some strawberries, so I borrowed some with permission.

Sliced banana

 I had to make a quick run to the Sunflower Market to get bananas, which we were out of, and blueberries, which were on sale.

Rinsed blueberries

 We blended the ingredients in our Ninja blender.

Cherry Berry Smoothie

 With the milk and ice added, the result had a mild but pleasant fruit flavor. It was light and refreshing! Just right for an energy burst while I cut up some green beans for supper.