Makaronia me kima

1 pkg (450g) elbow pasta
2 lbs ground beef
3 onions, chopped
1 can whole tomatoes, chopped
1 can tomato paste
Salt - pepper - oregano

1. Boil pasta as per package instructions. Drain and return pasta to pot. Top with some oil to prevent sticking.
2. Sauté the onions for about 5 minutes and add the beef. Brown the meat until fully cooked. Drain and return to cooking pot.
3. Start to reheat the beef and add the can of whole tomatoes, chopped. Using a food processor is great for both the onions and tomatoes.
4. Add the tomato paste. You can add 2-3 tablespoons, but I usually add the whole can, since I don't use it that often and the ground beef soaks up the tomatoes pretty quickly. Just a little extra tomato-y tasting.
5. Add salt - pepper - oregano to taste. I don't usually do this step, but it has been suggested so it's worth the mention.
6. Mix meat sauce into pot of cooked pasta and stir.
7. Serve with feta!

Pastitsio

1 package pastitsio pasta noodles (or mararoni elbows)

1.5 lbs lean ground beef

1 onion

parsley

1 can tomatoes

water

olive oil

salt-pepper-oregano

4 eggs

milk

Noodles

1. Add salt and olive oil to water and boil noodles for 7 minutes until al dente.
2. Rinse with cold water. Put pasta in a bowl and add 1/2 cup of milk and 1 egg and mix.
3. Set aside.

Beef

1. Grate an onion and sautee in a pot/pan with some oil until soft.
2. Add beef, salt, pepper, oregano and continue until browned.
3. Add tomatoes and 1 cup of water.
4. Simmer until water is gone (about 15 minutes).

In a rectangular pan put half of the pasta as flat as you can get it, then add the beef mixture and the rest of the pasta on top. Finally add the Bechamel sauce and bake at 500F until top is well browned (about 1/2 hour).

Bechamel sauce

1L milk

8 tablespoons all purpose flour

4 tablespoons butter

3 eggs

1. Melt butter in a non-stick pot/pan and add flour.
2. With a metal whisk, stir non-stop until sauce is smooth and beige in colour.

Gemista (stuffed peppers)

Without a doubt, my favourite Greek food as a child and today! Photo is before baking.

10 bell peppers / larger-sized tomatoes

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 rounded tablespoon of Italian rice for every pepper to stuff

parsley

1 can tomatoes

olive oil - salt - pepper - oregano

1 grated onion

5 potatoes

1. Sautee onion with some oil and add the beef, salt, pepper, parsely.
2. When beef has browned add the tomatoes, 1 cup of water and rice. Let simmer for a few minutes until most of the water is gone.
3. Peppers should be opened at the top, keep the "lids". Clean peppers of seeds and fill.
4. Cut up potatoes and spread throughout the pan. (This step was added on to my Thea Mary's suggestion. It's the way they make it in Greece, but my mom never added potatoes to gemista.)
5. Peppers should be open-side down, unless you want to turn them, mid-baking.
6. Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan, sprinkle salt and olive oil over everything just before you bake at 380F until the peppers are burned on top and the outer layer is wilted.
7. Serve with... Feta!