My Mom’s Goulash – My Poverty Meal

I ran across a goulash recipe today from Recipezaar called Poverty Meal and I had to laugh.

As a child my mom made something very similar to this but she called it Goulash. I think I like calling it the Poverty Meal instead as that is exactly what it was.

We grew up poor and my mom did her best to provide for us. I could always tell how broke we were by the ingredients she used, no kidding.

If times were good the recipe included vegetables, ground beef, cream of mushroom soup and cheese. If we were broke it became a simple tomato sauce and noodle dinner.

I have made this a few times for my family and I need to include it in my menu planning more often as my kids actually like it and eat it well.

It’s one of those quick dinner recipes that definitely fits well within my $5 dinner meals and depending on the ingredients you use it could actually be less than $2 to prepare. So here is my version of a Poverty Meal or as my mom calls it her Goulash recipe.

My Mom’s Goulash Recipe – My Poverty Meal
Quick Dinner Recipes

Goulash Recipe

Inspiration from Recipezaar, family recipe
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Meal Preparation Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (ground turkey works well too)
2 small cans of tomato sauce
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg. elbow macaroni
1 can of mixed vegetables (optional)
1 cup of cheese (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Meal Preparation Directions:

Prepare elbow macaroni according to directions on package, drain and put back in pot
Cook ground beef or turkey until done, drain grease
Add tomato sauce, cream of mushroom soup and mixed vegetable to pot of macaroni, mix well
Add ground beef or turkey and salt and pepper to taste.
Top with cheese if desired.

Meal Assembly:
Serves 4-6. Add a dinner salad and sliced french bread for a nutritious cheap family meal.