Yesterday for lunch I cooked "
Cheeseburger Macaroni & Cheese Goulash". I had a huge bag of elbow macaroni from Sam's in the cupboard and hamburger in the freezer. My mom taught me this recipe when I was growing up. It's one of those type dishes for the whole family that spawned from eating Betty Crocker's Hamburger Helper. It's good on the budget and is very filling. You don't have to buy Hamburger Helper since this is made from scratch. Much more onolicious. Good to bring to potlucks since you can make choke amounts so everyone can take home. I'm watching my carb intake but been good at portioning my servings for a dish like this.
Ingredients:
2-4 Tbsp canola oil
2 lbs ground beef
2 cups elbow macaroni
4-6 cloves of garlic, crushed and finely minced
1/2 round onion, sliced and chopped fine
1 bay laurel leaf ripped in half to release aromatic scent
1 8oz can corn niblets
2 80z cans tomato paste or spaghetti sauce or ketchup
Dash pepper to taste
Dash salt to taste
Dash MSG to taste (optional)
6 inches of celery top of stalk with leaves, chopped finely
6-8 American cheese slices, more if you want it cheesier (cheddar may be subsituted)
1/2 block of butter or margarine to taste, to counteract the sourness of the tomato sauce
Instructions:
Follow directions on macaroni packaging.
Boil water in pot, add oil and salt.
Add uncooked macaroni and stir so macaroni doesn't stick together. Cooking times may vary according to cooking instructions on packaging. Usually 6-10 minutes cooking times. Cook until macaroni is aldente'.
Drain and rinse, set aside in strainer.
In another pot, add oil and heat.
Add garlic, onions, celery and bay leaves. Fry until onions are translucent. Do not burn garlic.
Add ground beef and brown. Mash meat up to break apart chunks. Cook till well done. Drain and spoon out excess oil.
Add tomato or spaghetti sauce. Bring to a high simmer then low simmer.
Stir in macaroni.
Add cheese and butter.
Stir in can of drained corn niblets.
Simmer til desired consistency of cheese and sauce approximately 8-10 minutes or until macaroni is tender.
Add optional sugar or Splenda for desired sweetness if you don't want it tangy and sour from tomato sauce.
Add pepper and salt to taste.
To get fancy you may place in a pyrex casserole dish and layer cheese on top and bake in the oven for 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until the cheese melts and browns.
Serves 6-8 or about a weeks worth of good eats.
Enjoy! Let's kaukau!!
