Old Fashioned Goulash
This recipe is for all of the tomato fans out there. I'm not a big fan of tomatoes myself , but this dish really took me for a spin. I honestly had my doubts about it at first for several reasons. One being that it had too much tomato. I mean, I knew my mom would love it (she can literally eat tomato sandwiches), but I was still unsure. I decided to give it a try anyways because there's nothing wrong with experience. Plus, I love experimenting with food and I always encourage others as well.
*This recipe calls for a cast iron skillet and a LARGE pot (not medium) with corresponding lid. When I say large, it doesn't necessarily have to be super wide but it needs to be pretty wide and kind of tall. A pot that can hold a lot without running over when mixing.
There are a lot of ingredients in this recipe and a cast iron skillet will NOT hold everything (personal experience from first try). I had already added all the ingredients from Step 2, and realized I needed something bigger. Fortunately, I transferred everything from the skillet to the pot successfully. This way is not recommended, so please, I beg of you, have a large pot.
Now it's time for the recipe!
Cook Time
Ingredients (stars(*) are additional information)
- 2 onions, chopped *fresh or frozen
- 2 pounds ground beef, lean
- 2 cloves garlic, minced *chopped is okay
- 1 jar (about 26 oz) tomato pasta sauce, tomato based
- Two 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups (16 oz) elbow macaroni, uncooked
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 3 cups water
- 2 bay leaves, fresh or in container
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a skillet, cook ground beef, garlic, and onion on medium heat until it browns completely. Drain then transfer into a large pot
- Add the tomato paste, pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, water, seasonings (including desired about of salt and pepper), bell pepper, and bay leaves. Simmer covered for about 15 mintues
- Add macaroni and keep simmering while covered (stir occasionally) for about 20 minutes so pasta can be tender
- Take bay leaves out of the pot and discard. Top with cheese and replace the cover so it can melt (about 5 minutes). Serve IMMEDIATELY
*Do NOT add cheese if you are not serving it immediately after because you'll end up having to put more on because you can't taste it nor will it be gooey when you reheat it
*If it's going to be reheated later, remember to add a desirable amount of shredded cheese on top, so you can enjoy the goulash with gooey cheese
When I first made this, I wasn't going to serve it until the next day and I made the mistake of adding the cheese. So, before we reheated it in microwave for dinner we added the amount of cheese we wanted on our goulash and it still tasted just as good!
The same can be applied if you are serving on the same day you are making it, but decide to refrigerate the leftovers for later.
If there are any questions, leave them in the comments! I hope you get to make and enjoy this recipe!
© 2019 Ayainah Brown
