My version of Goulash

I hesitated to call this goulash, I've never liked goulash. My grandfather made it a lot when I was little and never really figured out what was so great about it; it tasted and looked like hamburger & tomato sauce mixed in with macaroni & cheese. But my fiancee tells me this is resembles his grandmother's version of goulash and since I couldn't think of anything else to call it, it's goulash.

This meal is relatively inexpensive and easy to throw together with frozen vegetables, left over sausages, left over spaghetti sauce, or whatever. The total price of this could be dropped to less than three dollars depending on what left-overs you use.
Here's the breakdown:

Pasta: $0.80
Hamburger: $1.10*
Peppers: $2.00*
Portobello Mushrooms $0.99*
Onion: $0.35
Crushed tomatoes: $0.99
Carrots: $0.50
Total: $6.73

* = sale.

Had the peppers, mushrooms and hamburger been normal price this meal might've cost around ten dollars. This recipe serves three to four people depending on serving size, and considering that to feed four people at McDonalds could cost you almost thirty dollars, I think this is a good, healthy alternative.

Lets get started then.

Begin with boiling about 2 1/2 cups of pasta in salted water. Have this going while preparing the rest of the meal.




In a large skillet, brown 1lb of hamburger until done. Drain and set aside.


Return the skillet to the stove and melt about 2tbsp of butter until it starts to turn brown.

Throw in your mushrooms. I am using about two cups of coarsely chopped Portobellos. Make sure to prepare more than you think you need because these will shrink in size as you cook. Stir them around in the butter until fragrant and you begin wondering where your fiancee hid the fish.

Now add the peppers. For this I used one orange pepper, one red pepper, four small carrots and one medium onion, all chopped in various sizes. I like a that home-made feel so I never chop anything the same size. I've got little pieces in there and big pieces. It makes it interesting.



Saute them for about two minutes, until they begin to smell good enough to just eat it straight out of the pan. Be careful not to overcook them, you want the peppers to still have snap when you're done.

Okay, now put the hamburger in as well as one can of crushed, diced tomatoes and about 1/4 cup of ketchup. I'm sure if you were making a little bit more you could use a small can of tomato paste or sauce but I'm not making that much, see?

Note: If you are using canned mushrooms, add them now.

Carefully fold it together and try not to get any on counter if your largest skillet just happens to not be big enough. I know, I could've used a pot but then I would have even worse photos for you. :)

Let it cook until the hamburger is hot again and the sauce is bubbling. Season how you want, I used garlic powder, Italian seasoning, dried oregano, coarse ground pepper, kosher salt, and some dried chives.

Serve over warm pasta and enjoy (:

This recipe is pretty versitle, there are tons of ways you could prepare this and never eat the same thing twice, You could probably go in a completely other direction with this and use shrimp and a white sauce and come up with something similar to shrimp scampi. Or you could use chicken with broccoli and green peppers, it's up to you really.

Even if I try to re-do this recipe it will never be the same thing, it'll always vary just a little bit.

I hope you enjoyed this (: Now get out there and cook!


My version of Goulash:

• 2 cups Penne Rigati.
• 1lb. Ground hamburger 80/20
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped.
• 1 Orange Bell Bepper, chopped.
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion, chopped.
• 4 Small Carrots, diced.
• 2-3 Portobello Mushroom caps, chopped.
• 1 Can Crushed Diced Tomatoes.
• 1/4 cup Tomato Ketchup.
• Garlic powder, Italian seasoning, Dried Oregano, Coarse Ground Pepper, Kosher salt, Dried Chives.

Serves 3 to 4.

Prepare pasta as instructed on box.

Brown hamburger, drain and set aside.

Saute mushrooms with butter until fragrent, add peppers, onion & carrots and toss for one minute. Return hamburger to pan. Add crushed tomatoes and ketchup. Mix together. Season to taste.

Serve over pasta.