Goulash! Comfort Food to the Max!

 

One someone says Goulash, what do you think?  For me it is one of the staples in the comfort food category, right up there with Macaroni and Cheese and Meatloaf.  Growing up my Dad would make Goulash with whatever he might have on hand.  I decided to make this when I hit a major sale at the grocery store on ground turkey. 

Well, it really wasn't a sale but a package miss mark issue.  We went grocery shopping over the holiday break and as I was walking down the meat aisle I noticed 3 lb. packages of ground turkey marked at $2.39 each.  My curiosity got the better of me so I asked an employee if they were marked incorrectly, which he proceeded to tell me no because they would be out of the date in three days.  To me, this explanation was still not right, so as I looked at the smaller portion package's, I noticed they were marked down to $2.39 a pound.  Once again, I approached the employee and then told him that this had to be an issue with the pricing.  It took him a couple of second to realize that someone was told to mark them at $2.39 a pound and not $2.39 a package!  So, because of their error, I got 9 pounds of ground turkey for $7.17!  And he quickly removed the rest of the packages to correct the pricing. 

I took my bargain home and immediately repackaged in 1 1/2 lb. sizes and froze them all. So, when the weather called for something that would be warm and filling, I though about a recipe from Paula Deen for Goulash.  I tweaked it a bit to add the ground turkey and beefed up the tomatoes.   Then bonus on this dinner was that I left the recipe out on the counter one morning before I went to work and had our daughter whip it up for dinner.  I love coming home to dinner that is already prepared.

Goulash

Ingredients

1  pound lean ground beef

1 1/2 pound ground turkey

2 large yellow onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 cups water

2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce

2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes (Italian Seasoned)

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

3 bay leaves

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon House Seasoning, recipe follows

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

1 lb. box elbow macaroni, uncooked

 

Directions

In a Dutch oven, sauté the ground beef  and turkey over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Break up the meat while sautéing. Spoon off any grease. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and sauté until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups water, along with the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, 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 to 20 minutes. Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves, and allow the mixture to sit about 30 minutes more before serving.

 

House Seasoning:

1 cup salt

1/4 cup pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix the ingredients together and store in an air-tight container for up to 6 months. Use as a seasoning on meat and when cooking vegetables.

 

Recipe is a tweaked version from of Paula Deen