I was surprised to find out from watching a food TV show that not everyone knows what American Goulash is.
This American Goulash is a simple recipe to make; it’s affordable and a dollar-stretching meal. Serve with a side salad and perhaps some garlic bread to round out the dinner.
This American Goulash is a meal you can truly make and have on the table within that thirty-minute time frame.
You may elect to purchase a jar of sauce and use up left-over spaghetti or marinara sauce if you get the ground beef on sale – perfect! That’s even more savings – the pasta on sale just adds to the fact that it is a great recipe for a budget meal. Depending on the number of people you are feeding, you may want to cook ¾ to a full box of either elbow or cellentani pasta and up the amount of ground beef. One pound of ground beef serves about 4 people. You may also want to try the Beef Goulash Soup recipe after this.
The Great American Goulash Recipe
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (minced beef) - add more if you prefer
1½ cups Marinara sauce (tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions – pasta sauce in southern hemisphere for Italian seafood dish) - use your favorite
½ cup yellow onion - finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic - freshly minced
1 pinch salt - to taste
1 pinch ground black pepper - to taste
1 pinch red pepper flakes - to taste- 1 box elbow pasta - (elbow is traditional) – cooked to manufacturer’s directions
Instructions
- In a deep non-stick skillet over moderate heat, add the ground beef. Salt and pepper the beef to taste. As it begins to brown, separate with a wooden spoon and keep stirring until it is cooked. If there is too much fat in the pan, drain it off.
- To the same pan, add the onion and the garlic and cook over low heat until the onion becomes translucent. Add in the red sauce and the red pepper flakes. Stir and cook covered for about 15 minutes minimum to allow all of the flavors to blend together.
- Serve over the cooked pasta with sides of garlic bread and a salad for a complete meal.
- If you want to kick this dish up heat and flavor-wise, add in pinches of cayenne pepper or more red pepper flakes. If not, leave the red pepper flakes out entirely.
