Goulash

My sister, Sarah, is SUCH a good cook and has an unbelievable knack for finding good recipes to try! A couple of weeks ago, I bought about 5 lbs of ground beef, intending to make meatloaf, but then realized that I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand. I was a bit flustered, trying to figure out what to make, without having to make a trip back out to the store and I noticed this recipe on her blog. My husband and I have always loved cooking-themed shows, whether it be Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, Chopped, etc, and we've heard people mention Goulash multiple times, yet have never tried it. My sister said that they truly enjoyed this recipe and it's from Paula Deen, so I knew I couldn't go wrong! I did make a couple of changes--the biggest being that I omitted the ground turkey altogether...it makes me want to gag and used all ground beef. I also used an entire 1 pound box of macaroni and am confident that this would easily serve a family of four and depending on how hearty your appetites are, you likely may even have some leftover! I made it later at night, after the kids had gone to bed and my husband and I each ate a large bowl-full and we had 2 decent-sized containers left. As my sister suggested, I served salad and garlic bread with it. Definitely a great "comfort food"!

Bobby's Goulash

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 pound ground turkey (again, I used all ground beef!)
2 large yellow onions, chopped
2- 15 oz cans tomato sauce
2- 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
3 bay leaves
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon House seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder)
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
2 cups elbow macaroni (uncooked) ***I used a full pound of uncooked macaroni***

Directions:

In a dutch oven, saute the ground beef and ground turkey over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Break up the meat while sauteing. Spoon off any grease. Add the onions to the pot and saute until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups (I added a little extra, b/c of the additional pasta) of water, along with tomato sauce, tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, House seasoning, and seasoned salt. Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 15-20 minutes.

Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 30minutes. (My sister suggested stirring periodically to ensure that it doesn't stick and burn to the bottom of the pot). Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves, and allow the mixture to sit about 30 minutes before serving.

Source: Delectable Dining; originally from Paula Deen Celebrates!