Quick & Easy Goulash

by Judi on Jul 31, 2008

I’ve been wanting to make goulash for a long time, but never took the time to find a recipe for it.. ok.. honestly, I didn’t know what I wanted to make was even called goulash until I came across MomCooks.net and found her recipe for it posted on her Monday Menu July 14th.

I did a few other searches because I like to have a few options on ingredients and cooking variables.. and found that goulash is really very quick and simple to make!

The basics to goulash are ground meat (beef, turkey, a combo), tomato sauce (chunked of tomato, paste, whatever), onion and peppers, and pasta (elbow macaroni, etc)… then you add spices (italian seems to be the norm, salt, pepper, bay leaves, garlic). You could add veggies (mixed veggies, or get specific), cheese, sour cream.. Serve up with some french, italian or garlic bread, a salad and you’re set!

How to make it? I used a large pan, but a 4 quart pot with a lid would have worked much better.
- Brown the meat, drain and set aside.
- Dice your onions and peppers and cook in the same pan until softened. Might need to add a little oil.
- Add your spices.
- Add your tomato selection.
- Let mix and come to boil.. stirring.. then I added about 2 cups of water and my dry pasta.
- Cover and cook until pasta is done to taste - took mine about 10 minutes.

Amounts - I used:
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 large can of tomato sauce (15 oz or so)
1/2 onion
1/2 green pepper
Spices to taste (1 tsp garlic, 2 bay leaves, etc)

One of my gripes with the grocery about meat is how they don’t seem to measure ground beef in 1 pound packages any more.. and so many recipes call for 1 or 2 pounds.. so generally, if it calls for 1 pound, I do 1.5.. I know I could go the counter and have them weigh it out for me.. but I want quick. Also, we just bought a deep freezer (I’m SO excited! Must be an age thing, because I would not be excited about a deep freezer 10 years ago…) and I plan to start buying ground beef in larger quantities and freezing so we have on hand.

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Creamy Tomato and Summer Herb Soup

by Judi on Jun 1, 2008

A very simple creamy soup that will satisfy your soup cravings plus get some vegetables into your diet.

Homemade soup from scratch helps control the nutritional content and it can be quicker and easier than you realize!

Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, chopped (approx 1 cup)
4 large vine ripe tomatoes, dices (approx 4 cups)
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 TBSP chopped fresh tarragon (may substitute with basil)
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

- Heat oil over medium in a medium sauce pan.
- Add chopped onion and sauté until softened.
- Add tomatoes and water, bring to boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

- Transfer soup to a food processor or blender (taking care blending with hot liquids) and puree until smooth.
- Using a strainer over the saucepan, pour the puree through the strainer.
- Discard the seeds and skin.

Whisk the sour cream and tarragon into the soup. Stir over low heat until soup is hot, but not boiling. Season with salt & pepper.

Nutritional information, per serving:
108 calories; 40 calories from fat; 4 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fat); 7 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 176 mg sodium.

Credits: Recipe and information from Dayton Daily News, Life section, Monday May 12, 2008, by Jim Romanoff

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Creamy Homemade Tomato Soup

by Judi on Sep 18, 2007

Originally uploaded by madaise.

Here’s a Tomato Soup recipe that calls for several ingredients - but all are easy enough. This tasty, rich soup takes condense tomato soup and perks it up.

1 medium, chopped onion
2 TBSP butter
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained - 14 1/2 oz cans
2 cans condensed tomato soup, undiluted - 10 3/4 oz cans
1 1/2 c. milk
1 tsp sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp dried basil
1/2 - 1 tsp paprika
1/8 - 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 package cream cheese, cubed - 8 oz package

- Sauté onions in butter, until tender, using a large sauce pan.
- Stir in everything EXCEPT the cream cheese.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add cream cheese, stirring until melted.
- Serve immediately.

Makes approx 2 quarts, or 8 servings.

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Easy Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe

by Judi on Sep 18, 2007

I’ve always wondered about making homemade tomato soup, from scratch, or mostly. I grew up on Campbell’s Tomato Soup, creamy with milk. Looking through my recipe books, I came across this tomato soup recipe… sounds yummmmy!

1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 can (46 oz) tomato juice
1/4 c. sugar
Crackers

- Melt butter in a large sauce pan.
- Stir in flour, curry, onion powder until smooth.
- Add tomato juice and sugar, gradually.
- Cook uncovered for approx 5 minutes, until thick and warm.

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