Sunday Special: Southwestern Goulash

. Things have been a little crazy around here the last couple weeks, and it appears that Sunday Specials have been put on the back burner.  There hasn't been any cooking going on lately, only many calls throughout the weeks to local pizza places and take-out restaurants.  That's okay though, hey, life happens!

I do happen to have one last recipe, however, from a couple weekends ago.  I really didn't have any idea how Goulash was supposed to turn out (that seems to be recurring theme...) but I thought I'd try it out anyway since the picture in the Taste of Home Cookbook looked appealing.  The photographers obviously did their job ☺

What we ended up with can be described as a light, soupy stew.  I hesitate to use the word 'stew', just because I think that gives the impression of something very hearty.  But while this meal was so very filling, it was very light while we were shoveling it into our mouths eating.  Filled with yummy lean beef, veggies and pasta, it's a great well-rounded meal!  For some reason, the elbow macaroni also reminded me a great kiddie soup.  I really don't have any childhood memories with pools of elbow macaroni and I don't even really remember eating them very often?  But this Goulash had me picturing tables of happy children eating away and being so intrigued with the unusually fun noodles.  And a happy child means a happy you, so don't deny yourself a wonderful Sunday night not filled with you slaving over a hot stove.  Oh, did I forget to mention that this meal took maybe a whopping 25 minutes to prepare?  Enough said .

Southwestern Goulash

from Taste of Home Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 c. uncooked elbow macaroni

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained

2/3 c. frozen corn

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 c. minced fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni according to package directions
2. Meanwhile, in Dutch oven over medium heat, cook beef and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Stir in tomatoes, corn, tomato sauce, chilies, cumin, pepper, and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 3 to 4 minutes or until heated through.
3. Drain macaroni; add to meat mixture.  Stir in cilantro and heat through.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutrition Facts (1-1/3 cups): Calories: 224 ; Fat: 6g ; Cholesterol: 37mg ; Sodium: 567mg ; Carbohydrates: 24g ; Fiber: 4g ; Protein: 19g