Moussaka

So tonight I made Moussaka again. Yum!!! It's warm, rich and just down right delish!! Have y'all ever decided what you're going to make for dinner, just to go to the store and find out they don't have some of your main ingredients? Or go to more than one store and they STILL don't have them? Yup! That was my issue this week. Normally my Moussaka is made with ground lamb (not in stock) and eggplant (not one in the county). So what's a girl to do? When you live 20 minutes from the nearest store, it's not like you can go home and pick another meal to make and go back. Not with gas prices this high. Sooo, instead of scratching the meal from the menu I thought okay, I'll substitute ground beef for the lamb, and zucchini for the eggplant. Boy, am I glad I did! It turned out great! Hubby said he actually prefers the zucchini to the eggplant. Who would've thunk it? LOL! So here's the recipe and remember to always be open to substituting ingredients if you can't find them or don't like them. If you make this I would do it on the weekend and give yourself about 3 hours give or take. Enjoy!

Moussaka:

3 eggplants or 3 lbs Zucchini, sliced lengthwise (eggplant 1/2"slice or zucchini 1/4" slices)
2lbs ground lamb (or beef)
3 onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3TB tomato pate
3/4c dry red wine
3TB parsley, chopped
1/2-3/4tsp ground cinnamon( depending on your taste)
dash of cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
equal amounts of butter and oil to fry eggplant/zucchini
4TB butter to cook with meat for sauce
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4c dry bread crumbs
1c Parmesan cheese
Bechamel sauce (recipe follows)

Salt the eggplant/zucchini lightly and sit on a cooling rack or colander to drain some of the liquid out for about 20 minutes. Rinse them quickly and press dry. Heat the oil/butter over med-high heat and fry the eggplant/zucchini quickly, until lightly brown. Set aside on a papertowl lined plate. In a large skillet heat 4TB of butter and add your meat and brown. Add your onions and garlic, and saute for about 10 minutes until the onions are soft. Mix the tomato sauce into the wine. Add the wine mixture, cinnamon, parsley, salt and pepper to the beef. Simmer over low heat stirring frequently until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat and let cool. Once it is cool mix in the eggs.
Assemble Moussaka in a buttered 9x13" pan. Sprinkle 1/2c of breadcrumbs over the bottom of the dish. Combine the remaining breadcrumbs with the parmesan cheese. Layer the pan with 1/2 the eggplant/zucchini, 1/2 the bechamel, 1/2 the cheese/breadcrumbs, all the meat sauce. Repeat other 1/2 eggplant/zucchini, 1/2 bechamel, and end with the cheese mixture. Bake at 375 degrees, for one hour or until the top is golden brown. Let it rest for 15 minutes before cutting.

Bechamel Sauce:
4TB Butter
6TB Flour
2c HOT whole milk (not cold)
2 egg yolks, beaten well
1/2tsp salt (or to taste)
Dash of nutmeg

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat, add the flour and stir for a minute or two. Add the hot milk in slowly, wisking constantly. Continue to cook over low heat until smooth and thickend. Remove from the heat add the salt and nutmeg. Then stir the egg yolks in. Combine well.