This is another of my personal favorite meals. I mean, tomato and meat sauce, pasta, and loads of gooey cheese - what's not to love? I got both my own love of it and the recipe from my paternal grandmother. I have absolutely no idea where she got the recipe (she definitely didn't come up with it herself; she was not what you could even vaguely call 'creative' in the kitchen), nor the name, which is bizarre to say the least.
Spaghetti is my absolute go-to meal. It's easy, inexpensive, and you can make a huge batch and freeze it in single-meal servings in ziploc bags, saving even more via bulk purchasing, and allowing for super simple meal preparation later.
Because of this, the measurements I will be giving are relative, easily adjusted to the size batch you are making. Just be aware so that you scale them appropriately. I usually use a 3-lb container of ground beef, 6 jars of sauce, and about 4 large onions, for example.
For parents with vegetable-averse kids, it's easy to sneak in some extra veggies in this, too. Just finely mince whatever veggies you like – carrots and bell peppers are great choices, for example, thanks to their nutrient contents – and add them midway through the browning of the onions. By the time it's done cooking, they should be unidentifiable.
Back when I was first learning to cook on my own, I conflated two recipes my grandmother made when trying to replicate her goulash. It wasn't "right", but as often happens, I decided I actually liked this new hybrid recipe even better, and so it is how I have made it ever since. It has the basis of goulash - a sauce primarily made of cooked down onion and paprika with beef - but then has the addition of some tomato, mushrooms, and peas, making it a bit more interesting to eat.
This recipe is for a large batch; we usually get several 'fresh' meals, as well as several portions to freeze, which it holds up to quite well.
This was incredibly delicious! It was a bit on the salty side, though. I found a recipe for making your own ranch dressing mix, and I am planning to make my own, with much less salt. In the meantime, I just added more sour cream and that improved the overly saltiness.
In seeking out crockpot recipes, I found several that claimed to be "beef stroganoff". This is based on the only one that actually sounded like beef stroganoff to me.
As usual, of course, I adjusted the recipe to fit our tastes, and that is what I am sharing with you!
A majority of nutritionists seem to agree that one of the biggest problems with the modern American diet is the overabundance of simple carbohydrates (carbs). Not all carbs, necessarily, but simple carbs.
One easy way to reduce simple carbs in most peoples' diets is pasta. I resisted for years switching to whole wheat pasta, because every time I tried it, it was awful. I couldn't stand the taste, and I couldn't stand the texture.
However, I found the key is to find the right brand. While white spaghetti is white spaghetti and there is virtually no difference between brands, there is a vast difference between brands for whole wheat spaghetti. After finding four or five, I found the right one for me and my family. The potential health benefits are well worth the time and effort to find the right brand for you.
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