American Goulash Aka Calico Casserole Food

GOULASH

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned and no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon salt, a few grinds of pepper, the paprika, and Italian seasoning to the beef and stir to combine. Cook, stirring, until the paprika begins to toast and become fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir the tomato paste into the beef mixture to coat, then cook until the paste thickens and deepens in color, about 2 minutes.
• Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire and beef broth to the beef mixture and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the cavatappi. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the heat. Gently stir in the parsley and Cheddar until combined and the cheese starts to melt. Divide the goulash among 6 bowls and top with more shredded Cheddar and chopped parsley.

AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Brown ground beef, onion and pepper.
• Season with garlic salt and pepper.
• Add tomatoes and tomato sauce.
• Simmer 10 minutes while macaroni is cooking.
• Boil macaroni al dente, drain, rinse.
• Return macaroni to pot, add beef and tomato mixture.
• Serve in bowls with shredded cheese.
• Even better left over and reheated (add a little water or tomato juice when reheating, if too dry).

CHEESY AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional. And heat water and start cooking 1 pound of pasta.
• Start brown 1 pound of ground beef over medium-high heat.
• Chop one small or 1/2 medium onion. Add the onion to the ground beef about 5 minutes into cooking, and Add two cloves of minced or crushed garlic to the burger the last few minutes of cooking the ground beef. Drain when done cooking.
• Prep a 2 1/2 quart baking dish with PAM.
• To the baking dish, add one 15 oz can tomato sauce, 14 1/2 oz diced tomatoes, one teaspoon basil, two teaspoon seasoning salt (I used Lowery's), 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well.
• Add the ground beef along with the pasta and mix well.
• Stir in 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
• Top with 1/2 cup mozzarella.
• Bake until golden brown-about 30 minutes.

AMERICAN GOULASH, AKA CALICO CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain.
• Brown ground beef with celery, onion, and pepper. Drain accumulated grease.
• Add remaining ingredients. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are cooked to your liking.
• If serving this as American Goulash, stop here. You're done.
• For Calico Casserole, turn into a 3-quart casserole, and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
• Variation 1: Add 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in Step 3. You may also need to add another 1/4 cup of water.
• Variation 2: Substitute 2 cups mixed vegetables for the corn and peas. Or substitute any other vegetables you have on hand.

CHEF JOHN'S AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and ground beef. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until browned, about 5 minutes. Cook and stir until liquid is evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes more. Add garlic, salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, Italian seasoning, and bay leaves.
• Cook and stir until flavors come together, about 3 minutes. Pour in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and marinara sauce. Rinse out the jar with 1 cup water and pour into the pot. Add soy sauce, stir, and bring soup to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and simmer to let flavors intensify, about 30 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium-high and bring soup to a simmer. Add macaroni; simmer, stirring occasionally, until just barely tender, about 12 minutes. Check for doneness after 10 minutes.
• Remove goulash from heat. Discard bay leaves; stir in parsley and Cheddar cheese. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Taste and season as desired.

GOULASH

Steps:

• Place the oil in a large dutch oven or pot and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add the ground beef, breaking it up into little pieces with a wooden spoon, and cook until no pink remains, about 5 minutes. If a lot of liquid or fat remain in the skillet, drain most and discard.
• Add the beef broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup water, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, Italian seasoning, paprika and ground black pepper. Stir to combine and return to a simmer.
• Add the macaroni and return the pot to a simmer once again. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 12 minutes, until the macaroni is tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and fold in the cheese. Stir until it is completely melted into the sauce. Serve topped with chopped herbs, if desired.

CLASSIC AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Cook the elbow macaroni pasta (or other small pasta) in salted water until tender. Drain.
• In a dutch oven or large soup pot, put the oil and diced onion. Cook the onion for about 4 minutes over medium heat.
• Add the bell pepper and cook until just tender.
• Add the garlic and cook one more minute.
• Add the ground meat and cook until browned.
• Drain off any fat.
• Add the soy sauce (or use Worcestershire sauce), dried Italian herbs, salt and pepper. (Instead of salt I usually use bouillon.) Stir to combine.
• Add the tomatoes. If you want a stronger tomato flavor, add some tomato paste also.
• Add the drained pasta and mix well.
• You will probably need to add more salt at this time. Serve hot with grated cheese for garnish. I also sometimes serve sour cream on the side. This dish is often better the next day.
• Variations: Some people like to add corn or a can of condensed mushroom soup to their American goulash. You could also add taco seasoning mix and give it a Mexican twist.

WEEKNIGHT AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add beef and onion. Cook 7 to 9 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is brown; drain, and return to skillet. Add garlic; cook about 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant. Stir in broth, tomato sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, paprika and pepper. Heat to simmering, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until slightly thickened.
• Stir in macaroni; cover and cook 16 to 18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender. Stir in cream cheese until completely melted, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with shredded cheese; top with crushed croutons.

BOOYAH THE SOUP

Steps:

• Remove all the meat from the cooked chicken. Discard the skin. You can reserve the bones for making stock. Chop the meat into bite size pieces. (1/2 inch cube). Refrigerate the meat until needed.
• Cut the beef chuck roast into 1 inch cubes and put into a resalable plastic bag. Add 1 Tbsp of flour to bag and shake until all the meat cubes are coated. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in 8 qt pot. When hot, add the meat and brown on all sides. Remove browned beef with a slotted spoon and reserve, repeat with remaining beef cubes.
• Cut kielbasa into strips and cube (1/2 inch). Add to hot pot and cook over medium high heat until browned. Remove with slotted spoon and add to beef. Do not drain fat from pot.
• Add onion, celery, red bell pepper, carrots, and the turnip to the pot. Sweat the vegetables over medium high heat until the onions are translucent. Add the Italian spice blend and the hot pepper flakes. Cook for 2 more minutes.
• Add can of diced tomatoes. Stir and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
• Add reserved chicken, beef, and sausage to pot. Bring to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 10 minute.
• Drain diced potatoes and add to pot along with barley. Cover and simmer all for 10 more minutes.
• Add frozen peas and corn. Add salt and pepper. Simmer 1 more minute. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Just before serving add beer.