Growing up this was one of my mom's stand by meals. She made it a little different than I do, I've had to adjust for a couple of picky eaters. This is a good, frugal meal that covers all your bases depending on how you make it. The way I make it I feel like I need to add in some veggies to round out the meal so I usually serve it with a salad.
Last night when I made this I used 2 cans of tomato soup (Campbell's only, I don't like any other brands). Growing up my mom would use diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes that they canned, and broke them up a bit. My husband and Bub don't like anything with chunks of tomatoes. The last time I made this, I ran the tomatoes through the blender and they ate it that way! That tastes more traditional to me. My mom also used to add chopped onions to this (you could add green pepper too if you like it); my boys don't like chopped onion either so I use onion powder in this recipe.
American Goulash
1 lb lean ground beef
1 box elbow macaroni
2 cans tomato soup + 1 can water (or use diced tomatoes, whatever your family likes)
salt & pepper
Onion powder (or chopped onion)
Garlic or garlic powder
1 cup cheddar cheese
Directions:
Brown ground beef (with onion and pepper if using). Season with garlic salt & pepper. Add soup and water (or tomatoes if using). Simmer 10 minutes while macaroni is cooking.
Boil macaroni al dente, drain, rinse. Return macaroni to pot, add beef mixture.
Serve in bowls with shredded cheese. Even better left over and reheated (add a little tomato juice when reheating, if too dry).
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