GOOD OLD SLOPPY JOE's

Years ago, when our hungry teenage boys came home for dinner (with hungry buddies tagging along) it was a challenge to feed them all with one pan of Sloppy Joe's. Unexpected "guests" at the dinner table required some quick thinking, so I "stretched" this simple  tried and true recipe, by adding kidney beans, extra shredded veggies and cheese. It was always a big hit. Necessity is the mother of invention I guess, thank goodness for versatile recipes like this one.

 These days, with the kids all gone, I still make a big batch of Sloppy Joes (seems like I can only make our family favorites in BIG BATCHES for some reason).

These days, I freeze portions in Ziploc bags (patted to a 1" thick flat shape so it thaws quickly). I love "instant" meals like this.

1 pound lean ground beef (I use 90% lean)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup shredded carrot
2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon red pepper sauce (see note)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
5 hamburger buns, split and toasted

Cook the hamburger and onion together, chopping up the meat as it cooks (drain meat well).

Stir in remaining ingredients (except buns). Simmer on med-low for about 20 minutes (to reduce the consistency of the sauce). Fill the hamburger buns with the beef mixture and serve.

NOTE: After this is cooked, it keeps well in the crockpot if your dinner hour is uncertain.

NOTE: I serve these with a slice of cheese under the meat mixture and a squirt of yellow mustard on top of the filling (our favorite).

NOTE: I never have red pepper sauce on hand, so I always use a pinch of dry red pepper flakes instead.

CHUCK ROAST SLOPPY JOES IN THE CROCK POT

When it is hot in Alaska, like it has been this week (85° today, broke an 87 year record), I start thinking about my slow cooker. I certainly do not want to turn on the oven when it gets this hot. 

Heat makes me lazy, which is another reason I love my slow cooker..... I just put the meat and veggies in the crock pot, early in the day, and forget about it. Not only does my house smell wonderful, but meal time is a snap; a stack of burger buns next to the crock pot and a bowl of potato salad and I have a meal fit for company (well, MY kind of company any way).

 

A browned chuck roast cooks low and slow with veggies and seasonings until it is fall-apart-tender. Thicken the sauce a little (right in the crock pot), then put the shredded beef back in and you have a heavenly sandwich.

Personally, I like a swirl of yellow mustard on mine, how do you like yours?

CHUCK ROAST SLOPPY JOE'S

2 pounds lean beef chuck roast (trim any large fatty areas)
1 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup green pepper
2/3 cup ketchup
½ cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon red pepper sauce
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon mustard powder

Brown the beef chuck roast in a frying pan, then place in a slow cooker. In the same frying pan, saute the vegetables until the onions are almost transparent.  Put the vegetables in the slow cooker.

In a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients and pour over the meat and veggies. Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 8 hours. It isn't necessary, but I turn the meat over a couple of times during cooking and spoon the sauce over the meat.

Thirty minutes (or so) before serving, thicken the sauce with a slurry of 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water.  Cut the beef into sandwich slices (or just pull it apart) and top with some of the sauce.  OH SO GOOD!!

NOTE:  My slow cooker took only 4 hours on high to make the meat extremely tender, but still slice-able. If you like your beef more like pulled pork, cook it on high for 5 hours.

NOTE: Browning the meat and veggies isn't absolutely necessary, but it sure improves the overall taste.

NOTE: This is a re-post of one of my original recipes from 2011. 

TACO MEAT LOAF

This meat loaf is a lot of fun and it is a great way to perk up any week night. It has crushed corn chips, salsa and cheese in it and then its topped with refried beans and more cheese.

The "heat" of your salsa will determine how spicy this meatloaf is, so it is easy to adjust for younger kids (and us grandparents). I like to serve it with Spanish rice, refried beans and coleslaw. It is a great change of pace.

1 pound of LEAN ground beef (less than 10% fat)
½ cup of finely crushed corn chips
1 beaten egg
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
½ cup of (your favorite) thick and chunky salsa
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup of Mexican blend shredded cheese

TOPPING
1 cup of refried beans
¼ cup of your favorite salsa
1 cup of Mexican blend shredded cheese

In a bowl, mix the ground beef, corn chips, egg, chili powder, cumin, salsa, black pepper and ½ cup of shredded cheese. Mix thoroughly and form into an oval on the baking sheet (not in a loaf pan).

 You should have an oval meat loaf like this

In a small bowl, mix the refried beans with ¼ cup of salsa and frost the top of the uncooked meatloaf with it. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes. The last few minutes of baking time, sprinkle the top of the meatloaf with one cup of shredded cheese and return to oven.

To serve, gently slide a thin spatula under the meatloaf to loosen it from the baking pan and lift it (all in one piece) to a nice serving dish.

NOTE: I do not add salt to this recipe because there is plenty of salt in the other ingredients.

NOTE: By baking this on a sheet pan (rather than a loaf pan) the grease will run out onto the pan and not "soak" your meatloaf.You shouldn't have much "grease" if you use 90% lean ground beef.

BAKED MEATLOAF BURGERS

I love meatloaf, especially the top and end pieces that are coated with that sticky sweet glaze, don't you? As a matter of fact, picky-picky husband and I have been known to make leftover meatloaf sandwiches, using ONLY that outside saucy layer of meat.

With that in mind, I decided to try "baked meatloaf burgers" and they were a big hit; we ended up with the best part of the meatloaf in EVERY sandwich!!

1½ pounds lean ground beef (I use 90% lean)

1/2 cup chopped onion (chopped finely)

2 eggs lightly beaten

2/3 cup saltine crumbs (fine)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Mix above ingredients (don't over mix) and shape into patties. Place on baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Brush liberally with glaze (really pile it on).

GLAZE

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon ground DRY mustard powder
healthy pinch of black pepper

few drops of liquid smoke

Mix Glaze and brush over the patties (use all of the glaze).

Bake patties in a preheated 350° oven for 25-30 minutes or until they are cooked through (cooking time depends on how thick you make your patties).

This recipe also makes wonderful sliders on little dinner rolls. Don't try to FRY these burgers (with the sauce on them) because it will scorch and burn quickly; the sauce really transforms magically in the oven, so it is worth the effort.

CROCKPOT SHORT RIB TACOS

The next two weeks are very busy "baking" weeks for me, how about you? I've made three different kinds of jam to put in gift baskets, and now I'm starting the fun stuff like cookies, breads and a gingerbread house.

While I'm happy to be in the kitchen, I'm not as happy about cooking real food (like dinner), so my crockpot is getting a workout while I have fun baking cookies.

Today's post came about the other day when I had some BONELESS beef short ribs thawed out and I had no clue what to do with them.  I decided to make boneless short rib tacos and they were SO GOOD, I will definitely be making these again!!

 

Start with 2½ pounds of BONELESS beef short ribs. I'm sure every butcher shop has their version, but the ones I use look like this and they are about 1/2" thick:

 

In a small cup, mix 3 teaspoons of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin (don't leave that out), 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of oregano and 1 tablespoon of dry onion flakes. Mix well and sprinkle both sides of the meat evenly as possible (no need to brown the meat). 

Put the seasoned meat in the crockpot and top with a 4 ounce can of undrained mild green chile's (I use Ortega).

 

Cook on low for 6 hours or until they are fall apart tender (it really depends on how thick the meat is). Don't add any liquid.

 

Remove the meat from the crockpot and cover with foil to keep warm for a few minutes. There will be about a cup of broth in the bottom of the crockpot...thicken it and coat the meat with the "taco gravy". Each boneless short rib makes one awesome taco!!

 

The leftovers (sliced on the bias) made fantastic grilled beef and cheese subs.



BEEF TOMATO-BARLEY SOUP

"It has finally stopped snowing", she said quietly as she knocked on wood. We actually saw the sun today and they are calling for more sun tomorrow; it has been quite a winter!! My poor old crock pot has hardly hit the shelf this winter; it seems like there is always some bean or soup recipe bubbling away in there.

Today's post is one of picky-picky husbands crockpot favorites. It is very rich, very beefy, very filling and it just keeps getting better and better the longer it cooks.

I was a young bride when I tried to make  home made beef soup the first time and it was terrible (I think it called for a ton of bay leaves). I remember cooking it all day and wanting it to taste as good as it looked, but we just couldn't eat it.

I didn't give up though, I tried all kinds of magazine recipes; some had a ton of herbs; some had onion soup mix; some had Italian salad dressing mix in it; I tried them all, with little success. I decided to go back to a no frill vegetable soup recipe.  I tweaked it for years until it evolved into the recipe I'm posting today. Picky-picky husband is crazy about this soup and loves to dip hot buttered bread rolls into it.

2 pounds beef chuck roast
1 cup onion chopped
1 cup celery chopped
2 cups carrot chopped
4 large potatoes cubed
2/3 cup pearl barley (don’t leave out)
(2) 32 ounce boxes beef broth
(1) 15 ounce can tomato sauce
½ teaspoon black pepper
(2) heaping teaspoons beef bullion granules

Cut the beef into 1” cubes, removing as much fat as possible. Brown beef in a minimal amount of vegetable oil until beef is nice and crusty brown (this is where the majority of your soup flavor will come from, so don't skip this step).
.
Remove beef from fry pan and drain off as much fat as you can; add onion, celery and carrots. Using the moisture from the veggies, de-glaze any crusty brown bits on the bottom of the pan. If the brown bits are stubborn, add a table spoon of water and use your spatula to scrape up the fond . Cook until onions are transparent.
.
Put the beef and sauteed vegetables in the crockpot and add the rest of the ingredients, stir well. Cook on low for 8 hours.
.
NOTE: Do not leave out barley. It not only gives a wonderful flavor to the soup, but it thickens the broth.

NOTE: Put any vegetables you like in the soup, just make sure they are vegetables that can stand up to long cooking times.

NOTE: Taste the soup for salt when it is almost done cooking.

QUICK STEAK and GRAVY

This great week night dinner is fast and satisfying for sure.  It is  made with cubed beef steak and is versatile enough to feed two or twenty.  It's rich brown gravy is flawless and the whole thing is table ready in about 35  minutes (depending on the thickness of your cube steak).

 

The ingredients listed here are for one pound of cubed beef steak (it makes about 2 cups of gravy). Double or triple the ingredients as you like.

1 pound cubed beef steak (see note)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon flour (to add to gravy)
little extra flour to coat the cubed steak
(1) 4 serving size envelope of Lipton's Beefy Mushroom soup mix (see note)
2 cups water
(no salt...there's salt in the soup mix)
pepper to taste

Cut the cubed beef steaks into serving size pieces and dust them with pepper (no salt). Coat them in a little flour (shake off the excess) and brown them in 2 tablespoons of vegetable (or Canola) oil.

Remove the browned meat to a plate.  Mix 1 tablespoon flour with the dry soup mix and mix it all into the oil and meat juices in the same pan that you browned the meat in. Whisk in two cups of water and use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up any browned bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Stir till the gravy is thick.

Put the  meat back in the gravy and turn it way down to a slow simmer.  Simmer (covered) until the meat is tender (see note below).

Serve over rice or mashed potatoes for a quick and easy dinner that even Picky-picky husband loves.

 

NOTE:   Some people have said they can not find Lipton's Beefy Mushroom soup mix. You can also use Lipton's Onion soup mix.

NOTE: How long you let the meat simmer in the sauce depends on how thick (and how tender) your cubed beef steaks are. The ones I buy are fairly thin, so I usually simmer them in the gravy for about 30 minutes. If you have thick cube steak (or if it looks a little tough) it may take more like 45-60 minutes to get fork tender.

CROCKPOT LASAGNA

SERIOUS COMFORT FOOD

 

I guess this isn't technically lasagna, since it is cooked in the crock pot and uses rigatoni noodles, but it qualifies as serious comfort food and has all of the rich, familiar lasagna flavors.

1½ pounds lean ground beef (browned & drained well)
4 cups of beef broth (not bullion)
(1) 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
(1) 12 ounce can of tomato paste
1 tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes
1 teaspoon dry oregano
2 teaspoons dry basil
½ teaspoon fennel seed (don't leave out)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoons sugar (don't leave out)
½ teaspoon black pepper
small pinch of red chili flakes (optional)
¾ pound of rigatoni noodles
½ pound of mushrooms (thick sliced)
2 to 3 cups Colby jack cheese shredded
1 cup of ricotta cheese

Brown the ground beef and drain it very well. In a large crock pot (see note below), Mix the beef broth, tomato sauce, tomato paste, onion and spices. Use a whisk to mix the sauce together well, then stir in the meat and mushrooms. Cook on high for 4 hours (see note). Stir once in a while during the 4 hours if possible (but not absolutely necessary.

After 4 hours, Stir in the DRY unboiled rigatoni, make sure you push them under the sauce (add a little extra hot water if necessary). Add the ricotta to the crock pot by spooning tablespoons of it in random spots and gently push down on the ricotta to submerge it as well (don't stir).

Continue to cook on low for 30 more minutes. Sprinkle the surface with shredded Colby jack cheese and put the lid back on for about 5 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted. Serve.

NOTE: My crock pot is a large oval and wide slow cooker, which works well for this recipe, as opposed to a small/tall one.  The main cooking time is 4 hours on high, but if you are going to be away from the house all day, just turn it down to LOW and cook for 8 hours before you add the noodles. If you are using one of those smaller/taller slow cookers, you may have to adjust the cooking time a little.

NOTE: My crock pot has a "low" setting, a "high" setting and a "warm" setting. Once this recipe is completely done (and ready to eat) you can leave it on "warm" for quite a while. Warning, "low" is not the same as "warm".

NOTE: Noodles tends to fall apart if you leave them in the crock pot for much more than 30 minutes, so don't be tempted to add them early. Thirty minutes is perfect.

NOTE: This recipe uses rigatoni noodles, which are large diameter tubular noodles that have ridges on them. However, any kind of thick walled (sturdy) noodle will work for this recipe. Just make sure you do NOT BOIL THEM before you add them to the sauce. They cook in the sauce and soak up all of that extra liquid. Regular elbow noodles work well if you are serving this to a crowd of kids.

NOTE: I like dehydrated onion in this recipe, but if you don't have that, just saute a small chopped onion along with the ground beef.

NOTE: You can use your favorite cheese. We happen to like Colby jack cheese, but mozzarella works well too.

NOTE: This reheats very well.

ROASTED BEEF & ZITI (serious comfort food)

This is comfort food at its best!!! It is FULL of flavor, rings all of the right rich flavor bells and it reheats excellently. I make it with big pieces of trimmed chuck roast that become "fall apart" tender because its all cooked at a very low temperature in the oven for 2½ hours.

2 pounds trimmed chuck roast
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
(1) 6 ounce can of tomato paste
4 cups beef broth (not bullion cubes)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons dry basil
1 teaspoon dry oregano
½ teaspoon fennel seed (do not leave out)
pinch of dry red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon of white sugar (do not leave out)
3 cups uncooked ziti
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Trim as much fat from the chuck steak as you can and brown it well in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Place the browned meat in a large oven proof pan that has a lid (or you can use foil). Saute the onions in the same frying pan until transparent. Add the tomato paste, beef broth and seasonings to the onions and heat it a little so the tomato paste completely mixes with the broth. Pour over the meat.

Put a tight fitting lid on the pan or seal it TIGHTLY with foil, and bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours. After 2 hours, remove the lid, and stir in 3 cups of UNcooked pasta and the mushrooms. Make sure the pasta and mushrooms are covered with sauce.

Put the lid back on (or cover tightly with foil) and turn the oven up to 350; bake for 30 more minutes.

NOTE:You can use any short, tube shaped noodle, but ziti works the best. NOTE: You can use ground beef, but brown it then drain it very well before baking.

NOTE: When baking the chuck roast, the low oven temperature of 300 degrees is important in order to get very tender beef.
NOTE: If you want to add cheese to this dish, I suggest Mozzarella or Jack cheese and add it AFTER everything is fully cooked, just mix in and put back in the oven for a few minutes, uncovered.

BEEF POT ROAST (OVEN BRAISED)

I will be posting some old classic recipes, from time to time, for the younger cooks that visit my recipe blog. These recipes are classics for a reason (they are really good) and todays post is a real winner.
.
Not only is this an easy family style meal, but it creates some of the best leftovers. Start by browning large chunks of chuck roast, then slow roasting them (in beef broth) in a low temperature oven, the end result is super moist, super tender and super beefy.



4 pound beef chuck roast (about 2" thick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (14 ounce) beef broth
potatoes
carrots
salt and pepper

Don't let the simplicity of the ingredients fool you, this is more about the cooking method than the ingredients. The final flavor is huge and it comes from browning the beef well before you put it into the oven (at least 4 minutes per side). Cut up the chuck roast into large pieces by removing any large white (fat) pieces that run through the meat. Some of you have commented that meat grosses you out. I hope you are courageous enough to try this cooking method, because your family will love you for it. After you cut the large pieces, salt and pepper them, generously, on all sides and brown them in a hot (preferably not a Teflon pan (see note). After the meat has nice crusty brown edges, remove it from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, saute a medium (diced) onion (about a cup). If you used a non-Teflon pan, there should (hopefully) be bits of browned beef stuck to the bottom of the pan. The moisture of the onions, will help de-glaze these little crusty treasures (where a lot of the flavor comes from). Keep cooking the onions until they turn soft. They should look like this (brown from the meat).
When the onions are soft, add the beef broth and stir to loosen everything in the pan.
.
Place the meat in a large roasting pan and arrange potatoes and carrots around the meet. Pour the onion-broth mixture over everything (make sure everything gets coated) like this:

Seal the pan tightly with foil and put into a pre-heated 300F oven for three hours. The meat will be extremely tender and moist and there will be enough broth to make a gravy (or we like the broth just spooned over the meat and potatoes); just make sure you have lots of crusty bread to dip in the broth.
NOTE: If you use a teflon pan, your meat will not leave those wonderful browned bits in the bottom of the pan, thats why I like to use a non-teflon pan to brown.
.NOTE: Leftovers make delicious cold sandwiches, beef & cheese burritos, barbecue beef sandwiches, etc.

NOTE: This recipe can be done in the crock pot, but it is just never quite as moist as it is when cooked in a 300F oven for 3 hours.

NOTE: We are purists when it comes to beef pot roast. I've tried adding herbs and other flavorings, but Hubby likes this simple recipe the best. If you want to liven up the taste with herbs, garlic, etc, go for it.

SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS

Hubby has a serious sweet tooth; he even likes SOME savory dishes on the sweet side, like this (quick and easy) sweet and sour sauce. It works equally as well with chicken, pork, country style ribs and shrimp.

SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS

 

MEATBALLS
1 pound of very lean ground beef
5 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup of milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients and shape into walnut size balls. Bake for 20 minutes at 375, then drain on paper towels.

SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE
In large sauce pan, mix:
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon dry red chili flakes (I use only a pinch)
(1) 8 ounce can of pineapple chunks undrained

Bring everything to a boil and thicken with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup of water. Bring back to a boil, stirring constantly. When the sauce has thickened, turn the heat down to a very slow simmer and add the baked meatballs. Continue simmering for about 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

NOTE: We don't care for a lot of "heat" in our food, so I use a scant 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

NOTE: Bake the meatballs for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how large you make them. I turn on the broiler for the last 2 or 3 minutes to give the meatballs some color.

OVEN BARBECUE STEAK

I had big plans to barbecue outside today, and then Mother Nature decided to rain on us all day, I went for plan B (the oven). The outcome was not as good as grilling outdoors, but an excellent alternative, for sure. Cooking "low and slow" in the oven, gives you a steak more tender than you could ever get on a grill.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup beef broth (or water)
1 cup favorite barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon DRY mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 pound chuck steak (1" thick)

Cut the chuck steak apart, into serving size pieces (cutting out some of the obvious fat lines). Brown the meat in the olive oil until it gets a nice crusty brown surface, then put it in a 9x13 baking pan.

In the same pan you browned the meat in, saute the veggies until they wilt. Add the rest of the ingredients (not the meat) and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Pour sauce over meat and cover the baking pan with foil (tightly). bake at 300 degrees for 2 to 2½ hours or until "fall apart" tender. Thicken sauce if necessary.

NOTE:  It is VERY IMPORTANT to bake at 300° to get the MOST TENDER steak........anything higher than that, will not work.

NOTE: It is also VERY IMPORTANT to brown the meat well before you bake it to get the maximum flavor.

HUNGARIAN GOULASH + HOMEMADE PASTA

This is MY kind of comfort food…slow simmered beef until it is fork tender, in a rich, full-bodied gravy and served over homemade noodles; it does not get much better than that. If you make this on the stovetop, it is done in about 2½ hours, at most. If you cook it in the crockpot, it takes about 8 hours on low.

2 pounds of chuck roast
1 medium onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ½ cups beef broth (not bullion)
¾ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika (not the hot kind)
½ teaspoon dry mustard
healthy pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Trim all of the white fat parts from a 2 pound chuck roast and cut it into one inch cubes. Brown the meat, onion and garlic in the olive oil. Drain any excess fat.

Add the rest of the ingredients and heat to boiling. Stir well and reduce heat to a very gentle simmer. Cover and simmer until fork tender (about 1 ½ to 2 hours depending on how tough the meat is). While this is simmering, make the noodles.

PASTA FOR FOUR

I made the dough for this in my kitchen aid (with paddle attachment). I made this before I got my new pasta roller, so it is a little irregular, but it still tasted great.

2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil

I just put the wet ingredients in first, mixed for a couple seconds, then put in the dry ingredients and mixed until it turned into a nice soft dough. Depending on the moisture content of your flour, you might have to add or subtract a tablespoon of water to get the right consistency (so don’t add all of the water at once). Knead the dough by hand for five minutes (or by machine for 3 minutes).The dough should be smooth, elastic and a just a little tacky to the touch.

Wrap the dough in plastic and let it sit (at room temperature) for 20 minutes…this is the most important step. If you skip this step, the dough will not roll out right and will try to spring back on you. If you let it sit for 20 minutes, it will roll out much easier.

Flour your counter and roll the dough out as thin as you can get it (it is a very forgiving dough and will not crack or tear like piecrust). Keep in mind that when you cook the noodles, they expand, so whatever thickness you roll them out to…your final product will be almost twice as thick! Cut the noodles in thin strips and air dry for an hour or so (I dried my noodles on a baking rack).To cook, bring a big pot of salted water to a boil (I added a tablespoon olive oil to the water) and cook the pasta for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. When it starts to float, it is very close to being done; remove a piece and taste it for doneness.

BACK TO GOULASH

When the noodles are almost done, and the meat is ultra-tender, turn up the heat under the meat and thicken the sauce with a flour-water slurry (¼ cup water + 2 tablespoons flour shaken in a jar). Stir vigorously while adding the slurry to the sauce and cook until thick, remove from heat. Serve goulash over cooked noodles.
NOTE: The first hour that the goulash cooks, the aroma will be strong, but never fear…the second hour, something magical happens and it all mellows out and becomes delicious.