Best American Goulash Aka Calico Casserole Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and ground beef. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until browned, about 5 minutes. Cook and stir until liquid is evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes more. Add garlic, salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, Italian seasoning, and bay leaves.
• Cook and stir until flavors come together, about 3 minutes. Pour in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and marinara sauce. Rinse out the jar with 1 cup water and pour into the pot. Add soy sauce, stir, and bring soup to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and simmer to let flavors intensify, about 30 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium-high and bring soup to a simmer. Add macaroni; simmer, stirring occasionally, until just barely tender, about 12 minutes. Check for doneness after 10 minutes.
• Remove goulash from heat. Discard bay leaves; stir in parsley and Cheddar cheese. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Taste and season as desired.

CHEESY AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional. And heat water and start cooking 1 pound of pasta.
• Start brown 1 pound of ground beef over medium-high heat.
• Chop one small or 1/2 medium onion. Add the onion to the ground beef about 5 minutes into cooking, and Add two cloves of minced or crushed garlic to the burger the last few minutes of cooking the ground beef. Drain when done cooking.
• Prep a 2 1/2 quart baking dish with PAM.
• To the baking dish, add one 15 oz can tomato sauce, 14 1/2 oz diced tomatoes, one teaspoon basil, two teaspoon seasoning salt (I used Lowery's), 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well.
• Add the ground beef along with the pasta and mix well.
• Stir in 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
• Top with 1/2 cup mozzarella.
• Bake until golden brown-about 30 minutes.

AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Brown ground beef in a large stockpot. Remove from pan and drain. Leave about 1-2 tablespoons grease in the. Add the diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat until tender. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
• Return ground beef to pot along with the water, beef base, cans of tomatoes and sauce, soy sauce, bay leaves, seasoned salt, Italian seasoning, paprika, and black pepper. Stir together, bring to a boil, cover, reduce to low, and let simmer for 20 minutes.
• Stir in the noodles, cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes or until al dente. Stir occasionally to prevent noodles from sticking to the bottom.
• Just before serving, stir in the cheese. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.

AMERICAN GOULASH, AKA CALICO CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain.
• Brown ground beef with celery, onion, and pepper. Drain accumulated grease.
• Add remaining ingredients. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are cooked to your liking.
• If serving this as American Goulash, stop here. You're done.
• For Calico Casserole, turn into a 3-quart casserole, and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
• Variation 1: Add 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in Step 3. You may also need to add another 1/4 cup of water.
• Variation 2: Substitute 2 cups mixed vegetables for the corn and peas. Or substitute any other vegetables you have on hand.

CLASSIC AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Cook the elbow macaroni pasta (or other small pasta) in salted water until tender. Drain.
• In a dutch oven or large soup pot, put the oil and diced onion. Cook the onion for about 4 minutes over medium heat.
• Add the bell pepper and cook until just tender.
• Add the garlic and cook one more minute.
• Add the ground meat and cook until browned.
• Drain off any fat.
• Add the soy sauce (or use Worcestershire sauce), dried Italian herbs, salt and pepper. (Instead of salt I usually use bouillon.) Stir to combine.
• Add the tomatoes. If you want a stronger tomato flavor, add some tomato paste also.
• Add the drained pasta and mix well.
• You will probably need to add more salt at this time. Serve hot with grated cheese for garnish. I also sometimes serve sour cream on the side. This dish is often better the next day.
• Variations: Some people like to add corn or a can of condensed mushroom soup to their American goulash. You could also add taco seasoning mix and give it a Mexican twist.

AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add beef and onion. Cook 7 to 9 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is brown; drain, and return to skillet. Add garlic; cook about 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant. Stir in broth, tomato sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, paprika and pepper. Heat to simmering, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until slightly thickened.
• Stir in macaroni; cover and cook 16 to 18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender. Stir in cream cheese until completely melted, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with shredded cheese; top with crushed croutons.