Saturday, May 4, 2013

Spring Cleaning and a Hearty Meal~

Sorry I've been MIA, but we have been on a roll I tell ya!  Two weeks ago we ripped out the rest of our overgrown shrubs, and landscaped our entire front yard with new shrubs and flowers.  I will take some pics if this rain ever stops!!  I am thankful for all this rain...I have only had to water all the new plantings and our garden twice in the past couple of weeks.

Then I got on a spring cleaning kick...who knew expecting your baby home from college would do that???  I thought those emotions were only reserved for expectant moms!! LOL

The good news...our ENTIRE house has been cleaned top to bottom! Crown moulding, baseboards, windows, every single blind each freakin slat! carpets, counters, hardwood floors, you name it!

And while it feels REALLY good to have it all done, I have muscles that I did not know existed screaming for a massage ASAP!!!

As I mentioned, it has been raining.  Well, that just might be an understatement...it has been pouring, for hours, no days!  And, it is cool...I mean...we live in the south, 55 this time of year is COLD people!

So, hubby came up with a fantastic dish for an unseasonably cool spring evening.  Goulash.  Of course, he asked if I had ever had goulash before.  Surely, this girl, who comes from a family of 6 (3 ravenous boys mind you) would have surely had goulash before!  Ummm..."honey, do you mean Hamburger Helper?"  I wish I had had a camera to capture his expression.  Guess the two are not the same!

However, it was delicious!  And, according to him...super easy to make yes, I am extremely spoiled I know.

Bobby's Goulash (yes, Bobby would be Paula's son)

Ingredients:
2 lbs lean ground beef
2 large yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups water
2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 Tbs Italian seasoning
3 bay leaves
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 Tbs seasoned salt
2 C elbow macaroni, uncooked

Directions:
In a Dutch oven (really is the key), saute the ground beef over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Break up the meat while sauteing.  Spoon off any grease.  Add the onions and garlic to the pot and saute until they are tender, about 5 minutes.  Add 3 cups water, along with the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, House Seasoning, and seasoned salt.  Stir well. Place lide on the pot and allow this to cook for 15 to 20 minutes.  Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Turn the heat off, remove the bay leaves, and allow the mixture to sit about 30 minutes more before serving.

Serve with garlic bread and a salad.

House Seasoning:
1 C salt
1/4 C pepper
1/4 C garlic powder

 Mix ingredients together and store in an air-tight container for up to 6 months.  Use as a seasoning on meat and when cooking vegetables.


Enjoy with a dollop of sour cream.  (on a side note-hubby and I think the leftovers would be realy good with a bit of bread crumbs and topped with some shredded cheese...bake until the cheese is golden brown).

11 comments:

Michaela said...

This sounds delicious and totally doable for me!! :)

Blondie's Journal said...

Your recipe sounds delish! And yes, perfect for these cold days. I'm in the Midwest and it keeps going from cold to hot, sun to rain. It's good that you got the rain so soon after planting. This is the best time of year for us besides fall, and we are just getting ready to put down some new grass seed.

I've never been able to get my spring cleaning done all at once. I usually do a room (or closet, lol!) at a time! But it's done and I'm happy.

Hope you're having a great weekend...stay warm!


Xo.
Jane

Michelle said...

Love Paula Deen's and boys' recipes. I have made a few. There is one called Wayne's Beef Mac that I make too.

That colder than normal weather seems to be all over the country. We had 8+ inches of snow!! In all my years of living in the upper midwest, we have never had this much snow this late. We have yet to have any kind of spring.. still winter here, which is sad considering days start to get shorter mid June. :(

Yay to getting all of your spring cleaning done. I need to finish mine. Enjoy your daughter coming home!!! I hope her first year of college was a good one!!

Preppy Empty Nester said...

That looks sooo good. Lean Cuisine even made their version of it for a while and I bought them all the time! Raised my girls on HH - we loved it. and sour cream always makes things a little better. Hope you have a great week, Lauren!

Katie said...

way to be so productive!! I wish my house was clean top to bottom! we got so much rain last week - it is nice to have green grass now but there was quite a lot of flooding! thankfully none at our house though!

Sixty-Fifth Avenue said...

It feels good to get the house clean from top to bottom, I'm in the process. Your dinner looks good, I haven't had that in a long time, I will have to make it soon. Thanks for the reminder!

Karena said...

Lauren it has been so cold here! I am sure your home looks beautiful and you Spring Cleaning Done!!

I will email you later.
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena

henning love said...

yum yum yum!! this recipe sounds perfect, it is raining here today and i have short ribs in the crock pot but if dinner wasn't already cooking i would that. yay for your daughter coming home soon!

Jennifer said...

Oh wow...this looks so yummy. My grandmother used to make goulash. I haven't had it since I was a kid. :-)

Designing Domesticity said...

Wow, you have been busy! Lucky you had a nice dinner as a nice reward for all your hard work! Thanks for sharing, liz

Jessica @ Stay at Home-ista said...

Dutch Ovens are pretty much the key to all my coking:)