Mom’s Goulash

Before Hamburger Helper became popular, my mom learned how to cook one-pot family meals as part of her home economics class in high school. The meal she liked most included tomatoes, pasta, ground beef, and corn as the main ingredients. She often served this favorite meal to my family when I was growing up, usually alongside a green salad and bread. With a few slight variations in ingredients and spices, I’ve re-created my mom’s goulash.

2 pounds ground beef

1 (10-ounce) package frozen vegetable seasoning blend, thawed and drained

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (12-ounce) package frozen sweet corn kernels, thawed and drained

2 ½ cups beef stock

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt

¾ teaspoon smoked paprika

⅛ teaspoon cracked black pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper

½ (6-ounce) package egg white dumpling noodles

2 tablespoons chopped chives or green onions

¼ cup cilantro leaves

½ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

Place the ground beef in a large pot or Dutch oven and cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until the meat is brown and no pink remains. Spoon out the excess fat. Stir in the seasoning blend, garlic, and tomato paste. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, beef stock, chili powder, salt, paprika, black pepper, and cayenne. Stir until combined. Gently stir in the noodles.

Cover and cook over medium to medium-low heat until the noodles are done, about 25 minutes, gently stirring occasionally. Season the goulash with salt to taste. Serve warm, topped with the chives, cilantro, and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Makes 8 servings.

Note: I prefer to use No Yolks dumpling noodles.