The Great Goulash Debate....and Giveaway! (giveaway CLOSED)

you know the one where nobody can agree on what real goulash is?  Where everyone goes into great detail telling how THEIR mothers made it or how their grandmothers made it.  All the while you are thinking, "that isn't REAL goulash, because my mom didn't make it that way". Busted you, didn't I?  I knew you would be thinking that and you will probably be thinking that when you see how MY mom made goulash.  I have heard of people using, spaghetti sauce, ketchup, tomato paste, tomato sauce, etc.  That is NOT how my mom made it! :))

The reality is, most of our traditional family recipes for goulash aren't goulash at all!  They are variations adapted over time according to availability, the economy and taste.  Right?  REAL goulash includes chunks of meat, vegetables, noodles, seasoned with paprika and is more like a stew.  Well, my version is nothing like that.  Let me tell you about goulash at the Smith's.

Growing up with 10 kids, money was tight.  My mom did the best she could with what she had.  It is this big family joke now how my mom made goulash with 1lb of hamburger and 3 lbs of pasta for all of us.  How she used to brown that meat and kill it until it was like sand granules.  We would have to search inside the elbow macaroni to find some!  She would use tomatoes she had canned from the summer and frankly, it was delish.  The freshness of the tomatoes, with the pasta and hamburger, (regardless of how little was in it) was just delicious.  She also added in onion which I left out of mine today because my husband doesn't like onion.  I will add it into the complex and mind boggling recipe.  Ready for it?

1 lb elbow macaroni.  (has to be elbows, thus the question on the fan page the other night)
3-14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes. 
2 lbs hamburger, browned
1/2 cup FINELY mince onion (optional)

Brown your hamburger and onions if you are adding them in a large pot.  Season it well with salt and pepper.   If you need to drain it, do so and put back into the pot.  In a separate pot boil your pasta for the lowest time recommended on your package.  *9-11 min, use the 9 minutes*.  Drain and pour into pot with hamburger, add in tomatoes WITH their juice.  Mix until combined well.  Season with salt and pepper again and,  waaa-laaaa.  GOULASH!

I know you are probably wondering why I posted such an easy recipe.  Well we do have readers in other countries, or some who have never done goulash this way.  It is so simple, and perfect for quick meals during the work week for kids and adults alike.  You can make a pot and it will last you a couple of meals as it stores fine in the refrigerator for a few days. 

I hope you enjoy this simple, 3-4 ingredient meal.  I have had requests for meals with 5 ingredients or less lately and here is one.  Goulash......Smith Style!

Enjoy!

Oh WAIT!!!!!  We hit 5,000 readers over on Facebook!  WooHoo!  I recently travelled to my sons wedding and visited (very nearby) Savannah, GA.  I wanted to find something I thought you all would enjoy.  I went into a store that a reader recommended "The Kitchen Outfitters" and found an amazing cookbook, and as luck would have it, the author, Mr. Damon Fowler was in the store to sign it.  You can find out more about Damon Lee Fowler here.  He was a delightful, kind man who so graciously signed this cookbook especially for one of you!  Here is what you need to do for a chance to win.

1. LIKE Chefwannabe on Facebook
2. FOLLOW Chefwannabe here on blogspot
3. FOLLOW me on twitter!

Leave a comment below telling me you have done these things, all in SEPERATE comments.  You will get more entries that way!  If you leave that you did all these in 1 comment, you get 1 entry. 

You can gain an extra entry.  Recommend a friend, if they join, they can leave an extra comment with your name, and you will get an extra entry!

You have until Friday, August 31st, at 6pm CST to enter!

Ok, I hope that is easy enough.  I want to thank you all for a year of new friendships, laughter, great food, and a stronger faith in the goodness of people!

 

Your "the blog may have had a birthday but I didn't get older"Chefwannabe