Goulash – It’s What’s For Dinner!

I don’t know about you, but I have a few comfort foods from my childhood that standout in my mind & my mom’s goulash is one of my favorites!  What’s even better…it’s one of the easiest meals there is and you can throw it all together within 20 minutes!  First off, I’ll start you off with the ingredients, so you can pick them up if you don’t happen to have them all on hand, but most likely you will. Even better, right?!

• 1lb box of pasta (whatever shape and kind that you like)
• 1lb of lean ground beef
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Dried Minced Onion or the real stuff if you prefer
• 2 cans of tomato paste
• Ketchup
• BBQ Sauce

Alright, what you’ll want to do first is get yourself a big pasta pot full of water & then throw in a good amount of salt to get that water boiling faster and to flavor the pasta.  Don’t be shy on the salt…the majority of it will be going down the drain when you drain your pasta!

Next, you’ll want to get your your ground beef and break it all up in a skillet to brown.  While it is browning, put in a bit of salt and pepper to your liking, as well as a few sprinkles of dried minced onion for some good flavor.  Once your meat is all browned up and cooked through, you can drain off any excess grease if any and then you can set it aside.
Now, once your pasta is all good to go, get out a strainer and drain all of the water off the pasta.  You can let it sit in the strainer for a few minutes while you prepare the next step.

Next, you’ll want to open up your two cans of tomato paste and scoop both cans into the pot that you were just cooking the pasta in.  Once those cans are empty, fill them up with water and add to the pot.  You’ll probably want to use 3 to 4 cans of water depending on how thick or thin you want the sauce.  You’ll want to stir this on low to medium heat until it’s all nice and smooth and blended together.

Once the sauce is all ready, you can then stir in meat and the pasta and stir it all together really good.  Next, you’ll want to squirt in a good amount of ketchup & BBQ sauce.  Just keep stirring and tasting and adding in a little more of what ever flavor you prefer.  I prefer a little more BBQ sauce myself, but everyones tastes are different.
Now dish it into a bowl & enjoy!  See, I told you it was easy!

Bon Appetit!

P.S.  Corn on the Cob & Cornbread go really well with this dish!