Last night I took ground beef out of the freezer.  I needed a quick casserole to get on the table.

I have always wanted to try making Moussaka but never seemed to quite get around to buying the eggplant.  I love Greek flavors and when I saw this recipe for a Moussaka like casserole on Pinterest I decided I had to try it.  No eggplant but diced potatoes.  I always have diced potatoes on hand.

This Moussaka recipe from Examiner.com seemed to have all the ingredients to make a delicious casserole.

Verdict:

I was right.  It was delicious.  Never having tasted Moussaka before I cannot attest to how close to Moussaka it tastes but my family loved it.  We had enough leftovers for lunch the next day even after everyone had two large servings.

I will admit this was NOT quick and seemed to dirty every dish and piece of silverware in my kitchen.  I was able to get most of it cleaned up during the hour baking time.  Yes, 1 hour.  So we didn’t eat dinner until 7:30 pm but it was delicious.

I served this meal with a side of green beans and a spinach salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½ pounds ground beef
• 2 cans tomatoes, diced
• ½ cup red wine
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1 package of frozen diced potatoes
• Salt/pepper
• 4 ½ tablespoons butter
• 4 ½ tablespoons flour
• 2 ¼ cups fat-free half and half
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 3 egg yolks
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, add the ground beef, garlic, and onions. Cook together, continually breaking up the meat so that the end product is crumbly. Once cooked, drain off the fat. To the drained meat, add the tomatoes, wine, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Let it cook uncovered over medium-low heat for about 15 – 20 minutes or until the excess liquid has evaporated.
2. While the meat is cooking, make the sauce  melt the butter in the bottom of a skillet. Add the flour to the melted butter and stir with a whisk for a couple of minutes. Pour in the milk slowly and cook, whisking continually, until thickened. Remove sauce from the heat.  Let the sauce cool slightly while you beat the egg yolks with a whisk, then add them to the white sauce in a steady stream while continuing to stir. Add the salt and nutmeg. Set aside for a very short time while assembling the potatoes and meat.
3. In the bottom of an oiled 9×13 baking dish, layer the potatoes and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Layer the meat over the potato layer. Pour the sauce over the meat layer, covering it completely. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees. Let sit for 5-10 minutes prior to cutting into squares and serving.