Southern Goulash!

When we were growing up, my mother made two very different types of  'goulash'.  One was a Hungarian goulash that was chunks of beef in a sour cream sauce spiced with paprika and served over egg noodles and the other one was a southern type of goulash that I think just about every southern mama had some sort of  'recipe' for.   Now, this wasn't an actual recipe, but just what they probably grew up on themselves or something.   This was a hamburger goulash and Mama's always has elbow macaroni in it.  It was cooked in a tomato type sauce, but not spaghetti sauce, just tomatoes and/or tomato sauce.  Sometimes, if my mother didn't have tomato sauce, she might even use a can of tomato soup.  

I used to think that I actually liked the Hungarian goulash best, but after I grew up I found myself liking the southern goulash more.   It's a quick, economic meal that really stretches a pound of ground beef.  Is this how your mother made goulash, probably not exactly, but maybe similar.  I think every family did it a little different.  But here is what you'll need for my mama's goulash:

1 lb. ground chuck, browned

1 medium onion, chopped

1/3 cup red or green bell pepper chopped

2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked

1  15 oz. can of stewed tomatoes

1  15 oz. can tomato sauce

4 cups of water

1 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. Italian seasoning or 1 tsp. basil and 1 tsp. oregano

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. seasoned salt

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning like Tony Chachere's (optional)

dash of Tabasco sauce

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 

Brown ground beef along with the chopped onion and the chopped bell pepper. 

Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, seasonings, macaroni and water.  Bring to a boil then turn to low. Stir well to be sure it isn't sticking and then cover and simmer until the macaroni is tender and most of the water is absorbed.  If it seems too dry add a little more water,  If it's too liquid, just leave the top off for a little while and turn the heat up a little.  The extra water will evaporate.  It's usually not too moist, but sometimes you do have to add a little water. Don't overcook the pasta.

Before serving sprinkle with the Parmesan and the cheddar cheeses. If you used an oven proof pan, you can run this in the oven to melt the cheese or just cover and let it melt on the stove. The cheese is something I added. My mother didn't put cheese on hers. I just happen to like cheese!