Old Fashion American Goulash Recipe | Simple Easy Pasta Supper

This recipe for basic old fashion American Goulash comes together quickly for a simple easy pasta supper.

Ground Beef and Elbow Macaroni Dinner American Goulash

My mom would make this easy ground beef dinner a few times a month for us.  Back when I was a kid, we just called ground beef plain old hamburger meat.  Now you can get 80% Lean, 85% Lean, 90% Lean, Ground Chicken, Ground Turkey, or Turkeyburger.  Use whatever  you like.  I use whatever's on sale, as my husband and since I've switched to the Mediterranean Diet for healthy eating, we now use Ground Turkey or Ground Chicken.

Of course, everything homemade tastes better, because you can control the ingredients and seasonings.  I won't use the box mixes similar to Goulash (or sometimes called American Chop Suey).  It's just too easy to make your own.

To make supper come together even faster, I prepare Freezer Meal packets of ground beef ahead, that already have diced tomatoes and onions in it.  I freeze in quart bags, about 2 cups each.

You might want to try my frugal casserole or skillet recipes for 

Ham and Spaghetti Casserole, using a Ham Steak or leftover ham
Pot Roast Sheppard Pie Casserole

Beef and Cabbage Casserole (Deconstructed Polish Golumpki)

Chicken Paprika Shepard Pie Casserole

Easy cleanup with Handmade Kitchen Dish Cloths from Moomettes Crochet !

I like to make a big batch in my skillet that was part of my Cuisinart Pots and Pans Set and then freeze some in my Food Saver Vaccum sealer for when I'm short on time.

American Goulash Casserole

1 lb ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Oregano, to taste

28 ounces diced tomatoes

15 ounces tomato sauce

1 lb elbow macaroni or 1 lb medium pasta shells

1 cup cheddar cheese or 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Brown ground beef, onion and pepper in a large skillet 
Season with garlic salt and pepper.

Add tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Simmer 10 minutes while macaroni is cooking.

Boil macaroni al dente, drain, reserving some of the pasta water. Then rinse.

Return macaroni to pot, add beef mixture along with the reserved pasta water.

Serve in dinner bowls with shredded cheese.

Goulash is even better left over and reheated (add a little tomato juice when reheating, if too dry).

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© Frugal New England Kitchen 

Ham and Spaghetti Casserole | Easy Ham Casserole Recipe

Here's a family favorite easy and quick skillet supper pasta casserole recipe for a weeknight using ham steak, canned stewed tomatoes and spaghetti. It's pretty inexpensive to make, and I like to keep the canned ingredients on-hand for a hurry-up dinner .  

This is an easy way to use up leftover ham from your Holiday dinners - Easter or Christmas!

Easy Quick Night Supper

My mother-in-law was Irish and never cooked spaghetti and meat sauce. If my husband and his siblings wanted Italian pasta, they had to order it out!  This is my mother-in-law's version of pasta that we fondly refer to as "Irish Spaghetti Casserole."  It works well using either leftover ham and then use the ham bone to make pea soup!  You can also use canned ham or a ham steak in this casserole recipe.

I like to look for Smithfield Ham Steaks when they're on sale - this is such a great way to feed a crowd and watch your pennies with the cost of food today.

I have a new cast iron skillet to replace an old fry pan, and this will be perfect to cook it in for skillet dinners.

It's even easier to make if you do OAMC freezer cooking. I've been putting up quite a few make-ahead freezer mixes to simplify mealtime preparation. Here's one of the ham meal starter mixes that I put together using a freezer recipe from The Family Homestead eBook cookbook.

If there's any leftover, I often turn this into soup for lunch by adding some beef or veggie broth

Check out my other week night easy casseroles for dinner -
American Goulash Casserole
Classic Macaroni and Cheese
Polish Beef and Cabbage Casserole (Deconstructed Goumpki)
New England Shepard Pie Casserole

Easy cleanup with Handmade Kitchen Dishcloths from Moomettes Crochet Shop!

Ham and Spaghetti Casserole

1 ham steak, cut into cubes
2 cans (16 oz.) stewed tomatoes (or 1 can stewed tomatoes, 1 can regular tomato sauce)
1 large green pepper, seeded and cut into cubes
2 - 3 tbl. cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste
Italian Seasoning, to taste
parmesan cheese, to taste
1 lb. cooked spaghetti pasta

In a large sided frying pan, add oil, and saute cut up ham steak until golden brown.
Add cut peppers and saute until tender.
Add stewed tomatoes, (including the juice).
Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Cook spaghetti according to package directions separately.
Drain and add to ham mixture. You may not want to add all at once so as not to use up all the juice.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add parmesan cheese if desired.
Serve with crusty garlic bread.

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© Frugal New England Kitchen