Pastitsio

This past week I found a big sale on ground beef so I stocked up and decided to do a little research to find some new recipes. This is a traditional Greek dish and is usually made with ziti pasta but I just used what we had in the house - rotini (I love the shape). I have only had Greek food a few times in my life and was a little skeptical at first about the cinnamon and nutmeg but I was pleasantly surprised.

8 oz ziti pasta
1 lb ground beef
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 green pepper, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
4 cups milk
2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
3 eggs

Cook pasta, drain, and return to pan. In a skillet, cook ground beef and onion until meat loses its pinkness and onion is soft; drain excess fat. Stir in green pepper, tomatoes, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes and set aside.

In a saucepan melt butter then mix in flour a little at a time. Add milk until desired thickness. Add parmesan cheese and stir to melt. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper. Remove from heat. In another bowl mix eggs with a whisk. Then add egg mixture to white sauce.

In a 13x9" casserole dish layer half of the pasta. Spoon meat mixture over pasta and cover with the second half of pasta. Pour cream sauce over top and sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese over everything. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.