What Is Your Favorite Comfort Food??

There is nothing like a rainy, cool autumn day to make me crave a favorite comfort food from my childhood.  We have certainly moved into the fall of the year - it came so quickly - and we have had enough rainy cool days already!  My hubby and I were trying to decide what to have for dinner recently when all of a sudden, "goulash" popped into my mind.  Not the Hungarian Goulash with mushrooms, beef chuck and Hungarian paprika, but good ol' American Goulash - the kind mom used to make (I found out she got the recipe from her mom).

When I was a kid, I thought this was a family recipe because I'd never had it at anyone else's house.  Later, w\hen I lived in Indianapolis, they made chili that looked a lot like our goulash, but of course the spices were different (who puts elbow mac in chili??).  So - I must say that when I researched this delicious, quick and easy meal, I was totally surprised to find several recipes - very similar to mine - on where else, but Pinterest!! LOL

You can see from the ingredients list below the reason it is such an easy recipe - there is hardly any work, so prep time is a snap.  I chopped my onion & bell pepper, and added a couple of fresh chopped tomatoes I had left from my dear friend, Sandy's garden.  That was the most work!!  REALLY!!

Here is the basic recipe, and you can add whatever you like to it (like Sandy's fresh maters).

1# ground beef
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1-2 cups of water
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cans light red kidney beans
1 tsp sugar
2 TBSP Italian seasoning (or oregano)
2 tsp dried basil
salt & pepper to taste
1# box elbow macaroni, uncooked

1. Brown your beef, stirring to break it up well in a skillet, then add the onion & bell pepper, cooking until the onions are translucent.  Put this in a pre-heated slow cooker that is on high.
2. Stir in everything else except the elbow mac, and cook on high for about 20 minutes.
3. Add the macaroni and continue cooking until the macaroni is al dente. You may need to add more water, which may result in the need to add more salt & pepper.
4.  Have your hubby taste it a few times (or you can) during the cooking process, to make sure your seasonings are right.
5.  You can serve it when done, but if you refrigerate it overnight........YUM - the flavors get a chance to blend.

This is what I call Comfort Food!