Yummy Goulash

Tomorrow, I am going to Decatur, Illinois to meet my dad for Christmas. I am in charge of making the food for our feast. As I was going through recipes trying to decide what to make, I came across the recipe I have for goulash. I immediately decided that I needed to make this. Not because it was going to part of the Christmas meal, but because a couple of months ago I was talking to him on the phone and I told him that I was making it and he said that it sounded really good. I'm also assuming that he hasn't had goulash in quite some time. 

The recipe for this is very, very simple. It's basically meat, tomatoes, noodles, and spices.

The first thing you do is brown the meat. The recipe that I have calls for two pounds, so if you are only making for one or two people, I would suggest halving the whole recipe. After the meat is browned, you add in the onion and garlic. Cook it for a few minutes until the garlic and onion make the place smell yummy. Next, you add all of the other ingredients except for the noodles. Bring the goop to a boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes. This is when you add the noodles. Cook for about another 25 minutes and then you are left with this...

Not the best picture, but it's so good! And the best thing about goulash is that it saves well and is probably better reheated than straight from the pot.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

1 large onion, diced

4 large cloves garlic, minced

3 cups water

2 15oz cans tomato sauce

2 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp dried oregano

2 tsp dried basil

2 dried bay leaves

1 tbsp seasoned salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 cups elbow macaroni (or whatever, obviously I used shells), uncooked

1. In a large Dutch oven, cook the meat over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks into small pieces. Cook until there is no longer any pink. Stir in the onions and garlic. Cook and stir the mixture until the onions are translucent.

2. Stir in all other ingredients, except the pasta. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in the pasta, cover, and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, discard the bay leaves, and either serve or store in the refrigerator overnight.