That's right, Sheboygan... as in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Sheboyan, Wisconsin has a long history of German culture. The city was founded in 1846 and featured a primarily German immigrant population at the time. Many of my Grandmothers family had passed through this part of the country and somewhere along the way this spin on a traditional goulash was created. I hope you enjoy!
What you will need:
1 lb of macaroni noodle
1 lb of ground beef (or turkey)
1 large sweet onion
3 large cans of diced tomatoes
4 cans of kidney beans
salt
pepper
chili powder
minced garlic
sugar (yup!)
Cook elbow macaroni per instructions.
Dice onion, then cook onion and ground beef together. Season to taste with salt, pepper and chili powder. Add minced garlic when about done. I use a generous amount.
Once noodles are finished, drain completely. In a large pot add the noodles, ground beef and onion, and the entire cans of kidney beans and diced tomatoes. Do not drain them.
Stir together and set stove on low (simmer). Season with chili powder depending on taste. I like a lot! Add salt and pepper to taste as well. I'm pretty generous with this as well.
A little sugar will help take the bite out of any acidic food, like tomatoes or kraut. For a large pot I would add one 1/2 cup of sugar. But this is optional.
Let simmer for at least an hour. The noodles absorb a lot of the juices making it taste extra yummy.
There's no real way to mess this up. And there's not really any measurement either. Like with any goulash you could pretty much add anything and it would taste good. We've added red bell peppers before (really good!) and sometimes topped with sour cream (really good too!).
I often make 2 pots of this at the same time, freezing the second pot for a later time. I really like the Glad Wear single serving freezer containers. Then the hubby can take one out at a time for lunch! Just thaw and microwave :)
