Midwestern Goulash

Midwestern Goulash?

The truth is, I hesitate to call it goulash because the recipe my family has made my entire life looks nothing like other goulash recipes I've read online and in cookbooks.  But, we call it goulash.  So what else am I supposed to call it?

I don't know for sure where this recipe originated, either.  I don't remember either of my grandmothers making it.  Come to think of it, I don't remember either of my grandmothers COOKING.  Except for the corned beef and cabbage or ham hocks and beans my Irish grandmother made with much regularity.  Of one thing I'm sure, it's origins do lie somewhere in the midwest between South Dakota and Illinois, in the many places my mother lived while growing up.  By the time I came along, this dish was well established in my family's rather odd culinary history.


MIDWESTERN GOULASH

Ingredients

• 1 lb elbow macaroni
• 1 lb ground beef (I like to use extra lean 92/8)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbs sweet Hungarian paprika
• 1 - 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 - 6 oz can of tomato paste
• 1 - 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Prepare macaroni according to directions.  (I start boiling the water for the macaroni, then assemble my ingredients to make the sauce.  My goal is for the macaroni to finish shortly after the sauce is ready.)
2. Spread the ground beef out on a large plate and sprinkle with the paprika.  (You can also add salt to taste at this point.)
3. Brown the spiced ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onions and garlic, lower heat to medium and continue to cook until they are soft.
4. Stir the can of tomato paste into the ground beef mixture, cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.  Stir until tomatoes and sauce are well mixed in the ground beef.  Simmer until macaroni is ready.
5. Add macaroni to the skillet and carefully (this spills easy!) incorporate that macaroni into the sauce. Cover and cook over low heat for ten minutes.

This is how my kiddos and I make it today.  I know that my mom added ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, but somewhere along the line we stopped doing that at my house.  We also serve this topped with shredded cheddar cheese, which would never have happened at my mom's table. Maybe because cheese was too expensive?

ENJOY!


Merissa at Little House on the Prairie Living is hosting a weekly Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange every Tuesday.  If you have a recipe to share you can link your blog post or you can post in the comments.  CLICK HERE to go to this week's exchange!

 

Go ahead, you know you want to look!

Lemon Bay Scallops

I haven't finished Operation Clean Out the Freezer because life has been getting in the way.  We've been out and about too much with soccer, church (senior stuff), prom, and dentist appointments.  Hopefully I'll be posting again on Monday with something new and wonderful made from those forgotten bits that were sitting in my freezer. :) 

We were shopping at Kroger this afternoon and Ashe asked if we could have scallops for lunch. Having broken the cardinal rule of grocery shopping - shopping on an empty stomach - it sounded like a great idea to me! This recipe was on the back of the bag of scallops and we thought we'd give it a try since it looked simple and tasty.

Lemon Bay Scallops

Ingredients

• 1 12-oz package frozen bay scallops, thawed
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 Tbsp. white wine
• 2 Tbsp. (1/4 stick) cold butter, chopped into pieces
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 3 Tbs Basil leaves, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 package spaghetti, cooked

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Thaw scallops and pat dry with a paper towel. Place scallops on foil. Sprinkle on lemon, butter, wine, salt, and pepper. Bake until scallops are opaque white on the inside (approx. 7-9 min.). Toss with tomatoes and basil and serve over spaghetti.

It wasn't anything to jump out at you, but I think that's the point of scallops.  Better to taste the full flavor of the scallops.  Both Ashe and I liked it, but I don't think it would work for the rest of the family.  Maybe with a cream sauce?

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #8

I heart Bethany's Italian Sausage with Bowties.   A lot.  I forgot how much until I ate dinner tonight.

For the Love of Grub:  Italian Sausage with Bowties. 

There was a moment of panic when I thought I only had one can of tomatoes, but thankfully there was a second hiding behind the canned chicken.  (Can you believe I made it through four decades on earth without ever knowingly eating canned chicken?  Yea...  if it weren't for necessity, I'd have like to have made it my whole life. :p)

As always, less is not more when it comes to fresh garlic.  I used about six cloves... maybe 3 or 4 teaspoons.  We do love our garlic!  I think I may have used a whole teaspoon of red pepper flakes (I was sort of, maybe, kind of winging it..) but no one is complaining it's too spicy.  Whew.

If you think this recipe is awesome, check out the others on Bethany's blog.  It's one of my main go-to recipe sites.  I linked above in this post and there's also a link in the sidebar.

ENJOY!

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - DAY #1

This is what I made the first day of Operation Clean Out the Freezer. I needed to choose something quick and easy, since I'd spent the afternoon cleaning out the freezer. The icky, sticky nasty stuff on the walls and in the drawers. And rearranging all the bits that were hanging out into manageable places.

I had two packages of these meatballs hiding under leftover chicken pieces and freezer-burned vegetables. I also had an extra mouth for dinner. Score! Generally, I use these for weekday dinners when the husband is traveling and there are only four of us. With six for dinner, I used both packages and we had no leftovers.

Red Sauce and Meatballs

(2) packages Aidells Zesty Italian Style with Mozzarella Meatballs

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1/2 medium onion, chopped finely
2 tsp salt
1 can tomato sauce
1 can chopped tomatoes
pinch of allspice
scant 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup red wine (I used Merlot)

Add extra virgin olive oil and chopped garlic to pan. Turn heat on medium high. When garlic starts to sizzle, turn heat down to medium and add chopped onions to pan. Cook until onions are translucent. (If garlic starts to burn, turn down heat.) Add to the pan the tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, allspice, and sugar, then stir everything together. Add packages of meatballs to the pan and simmer until meatballs are done.

Serve over your favorite pasta.

I don't always chop my onions and garlic finely, but for this sauce I wanted them to cling to the meatballs. The tomato sauce and chopped tomatoes were in cans the size of a typical can of soup - since marketers keep changing the size of the can I have NO idea how many ounces they are. Fifteen maybe?

I served this with Parmesan cheese for sprinkling and ricotta on the side. It was a big hit and a nice way to end a fun weekend.

Enjoy!