Pastitsio

keep in mind this is a banquet sized recipe

Elbow macaroni - 3 pounds

Ground beef - 3 pounds

Zucchini (cut into crescents) - 5 pounds

Squash (cut into crescents) - 5 pounds

Onion (chopped) - 3 Large white

Minced Garlic - 3 tablespoons

Tomato Sauce - 50 ounces

Salt - 2 Tbsp & 3/4 tsp

Ground cinnamon - 1 Tbsp & 1/4 tsp

Ground nutmeg - 1 3/4 tsp

Eggs (lightly beaten) - 6

Grated Parmesan cheese - 2 pounds

Sauce:

Butter 3 1/3 pounds

flour 1 1/3 pounds

ground cinnamon 1 3/4 tsp

milk 10 cups

eggs (lightly beaten) 7

grated parmesan cheese 1 1/2 cups

Cook macaroni

In a large skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over a medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce and seasoning.

Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a skillet, cook zucchini and squash

In a large bowl, combine macaroni, egg and parmesan cheese: set aside.

For suace, in a large sauce pan, melt butter; stir in flour and cinnamon until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for two minutes ot until slightly thickened.

Remove from heat

Stir in a small amount of hot mixture into eggs, return all to pan stirring constantly. Stir in cheese.

In a greased 3-qt (this is key for any of you home cooks, I doubt you want to use a 3 qt baking dish - the recipe I have from school features no other indication of size) spread half the macaroni mixture. Top with beef mixture, zucchini, squash and remaining macaroni mixture. Pour sauce over top.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Also, keep in mind, I did not get to be a part of the preparation of this dish. Therefore, I have no tips or tricks, and I don't know of any tweaks* that might exist, nor do I know exactly how much this recipe makes (the 3 quart baking dish is a pretty good indicator though). However, I do know that this is an amazing dish and I would think - for my vegetarian friends - easily adaptable.

*I say this because nearly every recipe I have used at work has been altered at least once, but never updated to include such tweaks. Something I have learned to be careful of.