Goulash

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There are so many recipes for goulash.  Some recipes get called goulash but they aren’t really goulash.  I don’t know that Hungarians or goulash traditionalist would feel that this qualifies.  What I do know is that my family enjoys this recipe!

In the hotter months, I cook this on the stovetop or in crockpot.  in the cooler months, I’ll cook it in the oven.  Sometimes we eat this like a soup while other times I ladle it over noodles or mashed potatoes.  Again – versatility … it’s like my mantra.  I just love that versatility!

Of course, we typically douse this with Cholula Hot Sauce while we eat it – totally optional if hot sauce isn’t your bag!

Goulash

• 2 lbs stew meat
• Coating
• 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
• 1 1/2 C flour
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1/2 Tbsp pepper
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• water, chicken broth, or combination  to just cover the meat
• 1 Tbsp Beef Better than Bouillon base
• 16 oz can tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 C half-and-half

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat.  Once hot, add the butter and olive oil and get it hot.  Add the chopped onions and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until starting to caramelize.  Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  While the onions are cooking, prepare the meat.

In a Ziploc bag, combine flour, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, and Ranch dressing mix.  Add the stew meat and toss to coat it well.  You may want to do this in batches. 

Once the onions and garlic are ready, add the meat and brown it well.  You may want to do this in batches so as to not overcrowd the pan.  Once the meat has been browned, put all meat in the pan and cover with water/broth mixture until it’s submerged about 1/2" to 3/4”.  Stir in the bouillon base or a bouillon cube.  Cook this for 70 to 90 minutes.  You want the meat to be very tender.

Stir in the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and the cream.  Heat until very hot.  Taste for seasonings and adjust to your family’s liking.

Serve it as a soup/stew or over noodles/mashed potatoes.

Buffalo Wingless Goulash

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Are you tired of all my buffalo wing infused recipes yet?  Can you believe that I still have more?  I haven’t been kidding you when I say my family really loves this flavor profile and we’ve creatively found ways to get this infused in many of our favorite dishes!

This photo is from the next day after the pasta has had an opportunity to absorb almost all the sauce.  I wish we could have captured a better picture from the first night it was made!  I figure that this picture was better than none.  =D

This particular recipe is very popular in my house.  When I make this one, we not only eat the leftovers but the leftovers are gone within a day or so.  This is a miracle in my house!!  We are terrible about eating most leftovers.  I used to be able to freeze the leftovers and then pull them out on busy nights.  Unfortunately, that’s not been an option since the upright freezer died.  By the way, I haven’t missed that as much as I thought I would.  I’ve always had a dedicated freezer so I thought it would be something that would be terrible.  Not so much.

Anyway, it’s not unusual for Monk to have a late night snack on these leftovers the first night we’ve made it.  These leftovers have been known to show up even for breakfast the next morning!  Sounds crazy, I know; however, put a couple of over medium or poached eggs on top of it – wow-wee-wow-wow – fantastic!

Another beauty of this recipe – I just love that this comes together in one pot on the stove pot.  I tend to use a medium to large Dutch oven so that there is room for everything. 

In any case, you can play around with the preparation.  For example, cook the pasta separately, then combine with the other goulash mixture, bake in the oven to melt cheese.  Viola!  This could actually bring the meal into the realm of a 20 minute meal versus roughly 40 minutes.

Buffalo Wingless Goulash

• 2 lb hamburger
• 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp onion powder
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes
• 1/2 bottle Frank’s Buffalo Wing sauce
• 1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
• 3 C to 4 C chicken broth
• 1 C milk
• 1 lb salad macaroni
• 8 oz brick cream cheese, cubed
• Garnish
• bleu cheese crumbles or cheddar
• dollop of sour cream or a little Ranch or Bleu Cheese Dressing

Heat a medium to large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Once hot, add hamburger and start breaking the meat up as if you were making tacos.  Once it starts to brown, add Worcestershire sauce, garlic and onion powder. 

Once the hamburger is brown, add the onions and cook them with the beef until the onion is translucent.  Stir in the Ro-Tel and the Frank’s Buffalo sauce.  Add the Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix and stir to mix into the meat mixture and sauce.  Taste for seasonings and adjust to your liking – you may want more Buffalo Wing sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, etc.

Stir in the chicken broth and milk.  Bring to a boil and add the uncooked pasta.  Make sure the pasta is completely submerged.  Add additional chicken broth or water to get a good 1/2” over the pasta/meat mixture.  Bring this back to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium to medium-low and let cook until pasta is al dente or as tender as your family likes.  Once the pasta is to your desired doneness, add the cubes of cream cheese and stir to combine and get the melted cream cheese throughout the dish.  Garnish each serving as desired.

Goulash Skillet

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This is a meal that you can get on the table quickly.  The recipe is really, really versatile.  Add flavors and veggies you like.  Change it up every time you make it.  It sort of happens like that at my house depending on what pasta or veggies I have on hand, in fact.  Sometimes I use spaghetti and call this spaghetti skillet versus goulash skillet.

Since this is ready typically in 30 minutes or less, the sides are a simple green salad and garlic bread or garlic Texas toast.  The family likes this so much that it’s rare that we have leftovers.

Goulash Skillet

• 1/2 lb elbow macaroni (or whatever pasta is on hand)
• 28 oz Tomato puree
• 1/2 C water
• 1 small onion, minced
• 3 cloves of garlic, grated or pressed
• 1/2 bag frozen sliced peppers, rough chopped (or 1 fresh)
• 1 medium to large can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 lb hamburger (or 1/2 lb hamburger and 1/2 lb hot Italian sausage)
• 1 tsp Italian herbs
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• red pepper flakes, to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• Garnish with parmesan cheese and fresh basil as desired

Brown hamburger in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Once browned, add onion, garlic, peppers, and mushrooms.  Cook until onion is tender.  Add puree, water, Italian herbs, smoked paprika, chili powder, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste.  Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.

Stir in elbow macaroni, cover pan and reduce heat to medium.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender.  Top each serving with parmesan cheese and fresh basil as desired.

“Johnny Marzetti” Goulash

I first learned of “Johnny Marzetti” from a friend of mine that hails from Ohio.  This friend is actually an ex-sister-in-law.  Hi Kaye!  She divorced my husband’s brother before I divorced my husband … I digress …

Anywho, the story, as I understand it, is that Johnny Marzetti is credited with making this dish first. 

From my perspective, this reminds me of the goulash I grew up eating although I don’t recall it also being baked and layered with cheesy goodness.  I really like goulash right out of the pan.  I love the Johnny Marzetti spin on it.

My family likes to top this with Cholula hot sauce.  Some have been known to even add a dollop of sour cream.  I am tempted to top this with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced red onions, and fresh grated Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese.  I saw Rachael Ray recipe that basically topped a hot pasta dish with a salad.  Sounds like a winner to me.  It could even happen with the leftovers from this meal!!

My favorite recipes are the ones that are versatile and forgiving.  I also love that I can take the leftovers and basically make a new dish that doesn’t feel like we’re eating leftovers.

“Johnny Marzetti” Goulash

• 2 lb ground beef or ground chuck
• 1/4 C minced dried onion
• 3 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 jar Newman’s Own Sockarooni Sauce
• 1 jar Classico Marinara Sauce
• 1 small package sliced mushrooms, fresh
• 3 cloves garlic, grated directly into sauce with microplane
• 1 Tbsp Italian Seasonings
• 1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
• 1 lb elbow macaroni
• 2 C sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 C mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.

Brown ground beef in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat seasoning with Worcestershire sauce, dried minced onion, and garlic.  Once meat is browned, add Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix and mushrooms.  Add Italian seasonings and stir to coat meat and mushrooms.  Cook for 2 minutes or so.  Add jars of sauce stirring well.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Cook macaroni to package directions and until al dente doneness.  Drain.  Add macaroni to meat sauce and mix well to coat it.  Once mixed well, put 1/2 of the mixture into the 9×13 pan.  Add 1 C of each cheese on top of macaroni mixture.  Add the rest of the macaroni mixture.  Top with the remaining cheese.

Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.  Serve with a simple green salad and garlic bread.