Goulash

I have heard that your taste buds change throughout your life. I guess that is true because as a kid I HATED goulash. I think it is because my mom would just throw anything into the pot and call it goulash. However, today as I was looking for recipes to use my new Dutch Oven  I saw a few different ones for goulash and they all looked wonderful.

Maybe they looked good because it was cold and snowy outside.
So...I took a few recipes and combined them together to make one that sounded good to me.
The first mistake I made was going to Reasor's during our two hour snow "storm".

Everyone was acting like we were going to be snowed in for weeks. I finally made it out of there with everything I needed.

1 lb of hamburger meat
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 bag of elbow macaroni
2 garlic cloves
1 tbs of italian seasoning
1/4 cup of diced onion
2 bay leaves
2 cups of water As I was cooking it I thought 2 cups was way too much water however it cooked down A LOT. You might want to add 2 1/2 cups of water.
1 1/2 cups of uncooked elbow pasta
Salt, pepper, season salt, and garlic powder added as you like


To start off I cooked the hamburger meat in the dutch oven. While that was cooking I chopped a few onions. Once the meat is done spoon of any grease. Luckily I didn't have any grease since I used lean meat. Then add onions and let them cook for a few minutes. Finally add the rest of the ingredients except for the pasta. Put lid on dutch oven and let cook for 20 minutes. Then add pasta, put the lid on, and cook for another 20 minutes. Turn off the heat & allow the micture to sit about 30 minutes more before serving.


Well it turned out pretty good. Next time I won't cook it as long once I add the pasta. Since I cooked it so long this time the noodles are a little too soft. But other than that it was good!
However, it was a fail for cooking for one. Even thought I reduced the recipe it was still way too much! Next time I will have to use even less.