moussaka

I had seen a recipe in the Rachel Ray magazine and decided it would be the perfect meal to eat 1/2 and save 1/2 for a rainy (or snowy – eek!) day. I changed the recipe a bit based on what I had on hand. I also used bison instead of lamb or beef – bison is a great meat in my opinion – very lean and usually raised naturally. I think it tastes pretty similar to beef so it was a great way to cut-down the fat and calories in this dish.

Moussaka - 8 servings

• 1/2 block cream cheese (I always use neufchatel cheese)
• block of feta cheese (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium eggplant, sliced crosswise
• 3 medium zucchini, sliced crosswise
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 1 lb bison meat
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drain some liquid
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Process the cream cheese and feta together until smooth and set aside.
Sprinkle the eggplant and zucchini with salt, set aside for at least 30 minutes, rinse and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Spray skillet with cooking spray and saute onion until translucent. Add bison (or any type) meat and cook for about 5 minutes, add tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.

Layer eggplant and zucchini pieces in a 9 x 13 pan or two 8 x 8 pans. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, layer meat-tomato mixture and spread (or plop rather) the cream cheese -feta mixture on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.  Turn on broiler to brown the top at the end.

We absolutely loved this moussaka, the taster included. It will be a great weeknight-dinner in the up-coming weeks!

Related posts:

1. roasted red-pepper feta dip
2. need of a quick appetizer?