Most women in the 1950’s were stay-at-home Moms, but my Mom broke the mold…on MANY levels.
Mom worked as a clerk in the local post office, so she was always on the lookout for easy meals that she could pull together quickly when she got home. This recipe was one of her favorites – and it’s stayed one of mine, too, for over 60 years. The virtues of this dish are too many to name, but I’ll try:
- It’s QUICK! From start to finish, you can get this together in 20 minutes or less.
- It’s EASY! Just two pots to clean up. The way Mom made it used canned tomatoes and juice, but I’ve since substituted a jar of pasta sauce (any jar will do) to make it even easier.
- It FEEDS an ARMY! And you’ll need it to – I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen anyone eat only one serving.
- It’s the ULTIMATE COMFORT FOOD! The smells and the tastes bring back feelings of family, togetherness, and home.
In our house, there was a constant “battle” on what this dish was named…Mom called it Goulash and Dad called it “Slumgullion”. Every time I make it, it brings a smile to my face remembering the fun family banter we had as we debated this at the dinner table.
But no matter what you call this tasty dinner dish, you’ll be glad to add it to your “go-to” list of recipes, too!
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive OIl
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 16 oz jar pasta sauce (any variety)
- 4-6 mini red and yellow peppers (any color will do)
- 1/4 Cup brown sugar (more or less to your taste)
- 1 Cup water
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 1 Knorr Vegetable Bouillon cube (optional)
- 2 Cups uncooked macaroni
- Fresh basil, Italian parsley, if desired
- Into the pot of boiling water add the vegetable cube and stir. (You may substitute 1 tsp. of salt for the cube)
- Stir in the uncooked macaroni and stir well. Bring water back to a boil and continue to stir often until the pasta is ALMOST cooked through.
- Drain well and add to the skillet of sauce. Stir to combine, and serve.
- In a skillet over medium heat, add olive oil, diced onion and minced garlic. Stir and cook until the mixture begins to soften.
- Add the ground beef and stir to break up. Saute until the beef is cooked through. (Continue to cook and let the ground beef continue to brown. (About 5-10 minutes.) If the ground beef is fairly lean there is no need to drain the small amount of fat that will cook out of the meat.
- Add the jar of pasta sauce, brown sugar, and water and stir to combine.
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