Goulash makes meals easy for new cooks

Perusing Facebook, a goulash recipe caught my attention. That one post had more than 2,000 hits. Over goulash?

Amazing, I thought.

Goulash is a mixture of vegetables, beans, hamburger meat and tomatoes or tomato soup. It is served with homemade bread (we have had time to bake since March) or cornbread. This throw-together dish is a good way to use up leftovers or use those extra cans of veggies stocked up for COVID-19 or perhaps hurricanes or storms.

I could not believe the reaction to a goulash. Responders talked about their mothers and grandmothers making it. Husbands from Hungary or Eastern Europe asked their wives to make it. Most of the ingredients were similar, but each seemed to have at least one ingredient different, be it soup, seasoning, beans or no beans.

A couple of years ago, Georgia Nagorka of Biloxi asked for a goulash recipe. Her mom used to make it, and unfortunately, Nagorka lost the recipe. I found some recipes, and readers shared their recipes.

I do not remember ever eating goulash. My grandmother did not make it because my grandfather did not like his food combined. His meat went on one side of the plate and vegetables and potatoes had their respective places. His food never touched, and he ate one thing at a time.

Readers came to Nagorka’s rescue. Today, I still do not make it because my daughter and granddaughter do not like dishes mixed, and they like their foods separated. In other words, it is deja vu at our house.

Some home cooks are like me and have never fixed goulash. Since it is an easy dish, folks that are cooking for the first time might like a meal-in-one pot. Goulash is basically cooking ground meat with onion and salt and pepper, canned veggies and beans, noodles or elbow macaroni and tomato sauce or tomato soup.

Goulash also goes by a variety of names: goulash, hunter’s stew, slumgullion, beachcomber beef casserole, American chop suey or Johnny Marzetti. The list of names goes on.

It is also good to prepare if there are more than five or six in the house. Goulash makes a lot. If it does not make enough, just dump in another can of corn or beans. Easy does it.

Readers, if you have a favorite goulash recipe, even the original Hungarian goulash, please e-mail me and share it with you fellow readers.

Here are some goulash versions that home cooks can try.

Beachcomber beef casserole

2 pounds ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

2 teaspoons salt

1 (7- or 8- ounce) package small shell or elbow macaroni, cooked

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 (14 1/2- or 16-ounce can tomatoes)

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

Separate ground beef into 1-inch chunks in large frying pan. Add onion and green pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned. Pour off drippings. Season meat mixture with salt and pepper; add tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn and cooked macaroni. Place in a 2 1/2- to 3 quart casserole. Cover and bake in a moderate oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring once or twice during baking. – Connie Cornwall, -- “Bell’s Best”lash stew

Goulash stew

3 tablespoons butter

2 onions, sliced thin

2 tablespoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, minced

2 pounds beef round steak

2 cups drained canned tomatoes

1/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature

Melt butter in a casserole with a cover. Add onions and cook gently for 10 minutes. Stir in the paprika salt and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes more. Remove the onion slices with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Turn up heat and add beef round a few pieces at a time in the pan oils.

Return onions to pot with all the meat and tomatoes. Cover and cook 2 1/2 hours. When stew is done, remove from stove burner and quickly add sour cream. Serve over wide noodles. – “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook”

Yum-e-setti

1 1/4 pounds 90 percent lean ground beef, browned, drained, and patted dry.

10 3/4 can 98 percent fat-free, lower sodium tomato soup

8-ounce package wide noodles, cooked

10 3/4 can 98 percent fat-free, lower-sodium cream of chicken soup

1 cup chopped celery, cooked tender

1 pound frozen mixed vegetables, including corn

3 ounces Velveeta Light cheese, cubed

Combine ground beef and tomato soup. Combine noodles, chicken soup and celery.

Layer beef mixture, chicken soup mixture and vegetables into slow cooker. Lay cheese over top. Cover. Cook on low 2-3 hours.

Nutritional data: Calories, 293; total fat, 8 grams; cholesterol, 68 milligrams; sodium, 478 milligrams; total carbohydrates, 34 grams; dietary fiber, 3 grams; sugars, 7 grams; protein, 20 grams. – “Fix-It and Forget-It Diabetic Cookbook”HOBO STEW

1 pound ground beef

1 large can Ranch Style beans

1small can of whole kernel corn

1 cup chopped onions

8-ounce can tomato sauce

Brown meat. Add onions, beans, corn and tomato sauce. Let simmer 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes a complete meal. Can serve over elbow noodles. – “Episcopal Cookbook, Beaumont, Texas”

Andrea Yeager can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net/ and Cooks Exchange, 205 DeBuys Road, Gulfport, MS 39507.