Hungarian Goulash With Homemade Noodles Beef Stew Recipe

Im gonna warn you from the start - this is real comfort food! If theres anything that this is not, its not low carb/watching your waistline/lightweight fare. This is soul-satisfying, hot on a cold day, filling, and healing for your biggest heartbreak type-food. 

Its December, and its time for homemade Hungarian goulash. Use a big pot, and make a lot, enough so that you have it to eat for at least three days. If you dont, you will wish that you had. This is my grandmothers recipe as my mother taught me how to make it. And although its not written down anywhere in any cookbook or on any recipe card in our homes, its engraved in our hearts. This recipe makes enough for a big potful, and I usually pack up a container to share with another family member or friend, and my two daughters and I still have plenty left over to enjoy for a few days. The homemade noodles are an optional addition, but only add even more delicious goodness to this recipe. Enjoy!

In a large soup pot, melt about 2-3 tablespoons of solid shortening on medium-high heat on your stove-top. I use Crisco solid shortening. 

I use two pounds of beef stew cubes or sirloin cubes. You can cut the entire recipe in half if you like and only use one pound. I go through the beef cubes and cut down any that are too large into smaller sized pieces. 

Add the beef cubes to the heated shortening to brown them, mixing well while they cook. Browning the steak cubes is what will help create a rich gravy that is the base of the stew. 

Once all of the steak cubes are evenly browned, add water to cover them. (This photo was taken before I covered the cubes with water.) Cook until fork-soft.

Peel and chop a few carrots and set aside. We will add those later because if we put them in too soon they will break down too quickly. 2-3 carrots are usually enough but I always add a couple extra just because I love carrots. 

Chop 1 stalk of celery and one medium sized onion. Add the celery and onion to the pot with the steak cubes, continuing to cook over medium heat. 

Wash and peel 3-4 medium sized potatoes and then cut into large cubes. Put the potato cubes into a separate pot, add water until potatoes are covered, and boil for about 10 minutes until cooked.  

Add the carrots to the pot with the steak cubes, celery and onion. Once the potatoes have finished cooking, add the potatoes AND about half of the water that you cooked the potatoes in to the main pot with the steak cubes, carrots, celery and onion. Stir. 

Simmer the goulash on low heat. To thicken the broth, add 3T of flour to 1/2 cup of COLD water and mix well until all flour is dissolved. Add water/flour mixture to the soup pot and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If I make a lot of broth with my goulosh then I  also like to add 2-3 individual packets of G. Washingtons Rich Brown Seasoning broth mix to boost the flavor. Add 1 tablespoon of Hungarian paprika and mix well. (You can add additional paprika if you like.) Cover the goulash and simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally while you make the homemade noodles.

Now make the noodles! 

In a mixer add 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 cups of flour, and about one half cup of cold water. Mix well until the dough is sticky and soft. 

This dough is perfect! 

Heat a pot of water to a rolling boil. I use a pasta pot with a draining insert. This makes it easy to remove the noodles when they are finished cooking. Once the water is boiling you will use a teaspoon to add half-teaspoon sized dollops of dough to the boiling water. 

Adding dough to the boiling water. You will need to use your finger to remove the dough from the spoon. I couldnt do that while taking the photo! I try to stretch out each dollop of dough so that it makes a longer, thinner noodle. Repeat this process until all of the dough is used up.

Stir the noodles with a wooden spoon. They cook in a just a minute or two, so by the time you are finished adding all the dough to the pot they are usually finished cooking. 

Here are some noodles that are the ideal size. 

Remove the noodles from the pot and drain, then add them directly to the stew.

Slice some crusty bread and serve with butter.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy this great recipe. Maybe it will become a favorite in your family as it is in mine. 

Enjoy your day!

Love, 

Laura

Check out my new DIY jewelry instruction books and DVDs!

   

Learn how to solder and make unique jewelry!


My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

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Create Your Own Magazine With Flipboard!

Ill be the first to admit, Im an infoholic. I love reading, I love research, and I love that we are so fortunate to have the internet as a tool that offers us the ability to access information on any topic we can imagine - literally at our fingertips. 

But for anyone who has ever looked up information on a specific topic on the internet, you will find that there are often too many search results that are not what you were looking for, or information that is inaccurate, and sometimes even articles that are poorly written. When I want to read about something, I want well written, factual content that comes from a reputable source. Cue: Flipboard! 

You can do so much with Flipboard! 

Whats it all about? The attraction of Flipboard is two-fold. First, its an awesome tool that is all about finding and collecting content that you love. You can "follow" just about any topic you are passionate about, and Flipboard presents that content to you in a beautiful, organized, and easy-to-read Flipboard magazine. You can use Flipboard on your desktop or on your mobile device with the Flipboard app, so you can take that content with you wherever you go, and read it whenever you like. Flipboard is the one place for all your interests!

 Here are a few of the topics I am following: 

Once you start choosing some topics of interest to follow on Flipboard, it will offer you suggestions of related topics that you might be interested in. There are more than 25 million Flipboard Magazines on just about any topic you can imagine!

Here are two screen shots of some of the topics I am following:

This is what my main page "feed" looks like when I open it up on my phone:

Additionally (and this is the really cool part!) Flipboard gives you the ability to share your own content from your blog or website as well, giving your content an entirely new audience. Not only that, but everything is easily organized in an attractive Flipboard Magazine  that can then be shared socially with friends and followers. "Flip", discover, share, and collect the stories you care about. Check it out !
 Here is a screenshot of my Flipboard with five Flipboard Magazines I created using my own content from my blog:

The magazines I created are: Upcycled Home Decor, Bohemian Home Decorating, Craft Tutorials, Jewelry Making Tutorials, and My Favorite Eats. Heres a closer look at each of my magazine "covers":

Check out the magazines that I created with Flipboard! 

Thats another one of the things I love about Flipboard - its beautiful! Flipboard Magazines are stylish and attractive. When you create a Flipboard Magazine, you are creating a visually stunning package of content. So not only does Flipboard give you one place to collect and share articles, blog posts and information, it allows you to add and share your own perspective on whatever it is that you are passionate about and then share it all - all in one beautiful package. Imagine sharing the things that inspire you with friends, followers, and customers. What an amazing resource! Here is a closer look at my "Craft Tutorials" Flipboard magazine:

Craft Tutorials magazine cover

Title page for article "How To Create Awesome Tie Dye T-Shirts"

 

Two example pages from article "How To Create Awesome Tie Dye T-Shirts"

View my Flipboard Magazine.

Looking for a memorable present for your loved ones this holiday season? Give them Gift of Flipboard! 
Choose from a range of 21 special pre-configured packages that cover a wide range of topics. From travelers to tech enthusiast, Flipboard is sure to have something for everyone!
Your Flipboard recipient can fill their feed with more of what you love by clicking the “Get More” button at the bottom of the app. Find out more information about the Gift of Flipboard here. 

Here is one that I will be gifting this year!

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