American Goulash

I remember my mom making goulash when I was a little girl. I have been looking for a good recipe to try. She never seemed to follow a recipe, just whipped it up on her own. I do better if I have a recipe to follow. I have made the Paula Deen recipe in the past, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. This recipe was delicious! It reminded me of what my mom used to make. My 2 year old kept asking for “more”. I was pretty excited, because he generally doesn’t eat very much meat. I made this twice in 2 weeks we liked it so much 🙂

American Goulash
Source: Slightly adapted from Gonna Want Seconds

2 pounds ground beef
1 large yellow onion (I used onion powder)
4 large cloves garlic, minced
3 cups water (I added a little more as it was cooking)
2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
2 (14.5 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

In a large pot, cook meat over medium heat. Cook until no longer pink, breaking up into small pieces. Drain grease. Stir in onions and garlic, cooking until onions are translucent.

Stir in water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, oregano, basil, bay leaves, season salt, and black pepper. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low. Cover, and simmer 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

Stir in the elbow macaroni, and simmer over low heat until pasta is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and refrigerate if possible overnight. **I served this immediately with Parmesan cheese on top.