Hi everyone, ready to go to the kitchen? This new segment we’re doing feature recipes our mothers and grandmothers used to make. My mom married during the Depression and she talked a lot about not having exactly what a recipe called for and having to make do. Those were hard times but she lived through them by God’s mercy and grace. When I was a girl at home, she used to make something called Slumgullion or you may know it as Goulash. Pretty much anything goes and a lot of times she made it with leftovers in the fridge. Here’s a picture of my mom in her kitchen where you could usually always find her.
Cowboys on cattle drives ate a lot of this. It’s just so easy and very filling. I’m a big fan of anything that doesn’t have a lot of ingredients.
Slumgullion
4 slices of bacon
1 pound of hamburger
1/2 onion diced
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
1 can tomatoes
Optional: Elbow Macaroni
Optional: 1 can of sweet corn and/or sweet peas
Brown bacon in a heavy saucepan or cast iron skillet, drain and set aside. Cook hamburger meat and onion together and drain. Add cooked bacon and tomatoes (drain half the juice) to the beef and stir in the cheese, corn, and the macaroni if you choose to use that. Cook on low heat to let the flavors blend together. Serve with cornbread or some other type of bread. Enjoy.
Thank you for coming to read my post. Have you ever eaten this or something similar? How about old recipes in your family?
Also, have you been on the Facebook Petticoats and Pistols Reader Page? It’s always fun and informative too. https://bit.ly/3EJhldO
Here in the Texas Panhandle, we do love our cowboys. There's just something about a man in a Stetson and jeans that makes my heart beat faster. I'm not much of a cook but I love to do genealogy and I'm a bit of a rock hound. I'm also a NY Times & USA Today bestselling author of historical western romance. You can contact me through my website and I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. HAPPY READING!
https://petticoatsandpistols.com/sweepstakesrules/
My mom made something similar and called it beefaroni or if she added chili powder, she called it chili mac.
So good and stretches for a family.
Denise, this dish is really so versatile. You can do anything with it. That’s what made it a favorite in years past. Thanks for coming.
We made a tomato-based soup or stew from whatever had left over and tomato soup.
Janice, yes that was so easy and it used up all the leftovers. Slumgullion was a favorite of cowboys on a cattle drive or roundup. Have a blessed day.
I think I would enjoy this. thanks
Debra, it really is tasty and also filling. Cowboys loved it when they were driving cattle up to the rail heads. I hope you have a blessed day.
Good morning Linda~
Oh yes, we had goulash when I was growing up. We also had Spanish rice from time to time. I would say spaghetti or lasagna might be the closest dish to goulash that I make in my own kitchen. Your mom had quite the smile Linda. Beautiful. My mom would have loved the pansies on the wallpaper in her Kitchen. Take care.
Kathy, goulash is the same thing. Some of us have gotten away from it but I made a lot of this when my kids were growing up. Thank you for the compliment on my mom. I always thought she was a beautiful woman. Her smile was so warm. She put the wallpaper in the kitchen herself as she did most things. Enjoy this warmer weather. Much love.
Granny made a dish she, then mom, called depression casserole. Macaroni, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce ,.browned.ground beef.
We loved it
Deb, it was truly a favorite of everyone during the Depression and after. The beauty of this recipe is that it’s so versatile. You can put anything in it. Thanks for coming and have a blessed day.
welcome today. thanks for sharing your moms recipe. my mom would make many recipes that were just thrown together. there were five kids and she did what she could do. this is where I learned to garden. we ate a lot of what we could grow.
Lori, those cooks back then could throw anything together and make it taste delicious. It’s just amazing what they could do. Gardens were really the lifesavers but my family were migrant workers so they never could grow a garden. Blessings and love.
Good morning Linda! We had that about a month ago! My 10 year old grandson said,”Have I had this before Gram?” I said I was pretty sure not. Goulash is not something I make very often. It’s been many years. He said he liked it. He likes anything with macaroni noodles in it!
Thanks Linda! Many blessings!
Tracy, I’m so glad you came. That’s funny about your grandson. It doesn’t matter that this has been around since the 1800s. It’s just a wonderful, versatile dish that everyone loves. Have a blessed day.
Oh, my goodness, Linda. What a name for this recipe! 🙂 Did your mom make it up as a family nickname or is it a real thing?
I grew up eating and making goulash, but your recipe is alot different than mine. I never put corn or peas in it, but I love the idea of bacon. We topped ours with Parmesan cheese, not cheddar.
Fun and practical dish! Thanks for sharing!
Pam, no the name has been around since the cowboys drove cattle up the trails to market. Those cooks made this from their chuckwagon. Slumgullion is what they called it back in the 1800s. It’s the same thing as our goulash and you can put whatever you want in it. There are no hard and fast rules. 🙂 I’m happy to share it. Thanks for coming, my Filly sister.
yes Mom too would make a “clean out the fridge” pot but since caring for FIL not much left over anymore at our house!
Teresa, yep that used to produce a good meal. I never have leftovers anymore since it’s just me. But it sure made things quick and easy back then. 🙂 Love and hugs.
This sounds delicious. I have copied and pasted it into an email to myself to print out. Thank you for the recipe.
Bonnie, I’m happy it appealed to you. Thanks for coming and have a blessed day.
I have eaten something very similar to this, and I make it myself now! One time when my parents and I were visiting some of my relatives, my aunt fixed something that I loved! I asked her what the recipe was, and she said she didn’t know, she’d just put a lot of leftovers in the pot and that was what came out!
Trudy, your aunt spoke the truth. Cooks back then just threw things together and it was so delicious. Cowboys really loved it because it was so good and it filled their bellies.
We call it goulash. I’ve ate it before, my daughter makes it. We have never put corn it. I make something similar with ground beef, beef bouillon, peas, and seasoning.
Karijean, goulash is much the same. Well, you can put whatever you want in this. It’s really versatile. Love and hugs.
Anything with bacon is good by me! Sounds like you had a great mother.
Susan, my mom was really a great cook. But she got lots of practice since she cooked for the family when she had to pull a box up to the stove to stand on. She was about nine years old and her mother (my grandmother) was sick all the time. So that’s how she learned and she never went by a recipe. I agree that bacon adds a ton of flavor to anything. I hope you have a blessed day.
My mother used to make this but I don’t because my husband doesn’t want to eat Macaroni or any kind of pasta. Although we do fix some pasta every so often.
Quilt Lady, I think this was a staple from way back there. Lots of families ate this and were grateful to get it. You can make it without macaroni. 🙂 Love and hugs.
Hi Linda. I had goulash sort of like this many times while growing up. Made it many times as my family grew up and still make it sometimes. As you said you can use lots of ingredients or a few ingredients. According to your taste for the moment. And with cornbread is my favorite way! ?
I think I’ve had goulash before, it’s pretty good!
I have eaten this, my oldest sister used to make it. Sadly, my husband is a very picky eater and would not eat it. One recipe my mother made that I loved was chocolate sauce. I don’t have the recipe but wish I did. She would make a plain, 9×13 cake, then make this chocolate sauce and serve over it. Cut it in squares then put a couple of spoonfuls over top. My sister said she made it using Hershey’s Cocoa, sugar and water, and maybe a little butter. There were 9 of us including my parents so this was pretty economical. The sauce would soak into the cake and was delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
My mom would take left over chili and goulash and mix it together for a meal. We loved it! Thanks for sharing
I haven’t eaten anything similar to that but I havr tried Chili mac (prefer chili w/ cheese and Fritos scooping it up and saltines soaking up the broth. I’ve also had what we call Spanish rice..
Haave a Blessed day!!!!!!!
I’ve tried something like this different times made differently and for some reason I just don’t care for Beef A Roni or Ghulosh
Your mom was a lovely woman. What a wonderful smile.
My aunt’s and family’s goulash recipe is a bit similar. My aunt was very careful about measuring, but I just sort of throw things together. Cook up the hamburger. In a separate pan my aunt would sauté diced onions, diced celery, and a can of diced tomatoes. Macaroni was always a part of it. If you are short on meat, the macaroni is a good way to stretch the dish (like adding a bit of water to the soup). She would mix all the ingredients, place in a baking dish, crumble saltine crackers on top, and cover the saltines with shredded cheddar cheese. Pop it in the oven and bake at 350 until hot and cheese is browned. I have never added left over vegetables, but that is a good idea. Of course, the family might complain because it isn’t just like Aunt Helen’s.
Thanks for sharing your family recipe. I will have to give it a try. It sounds like something we would like.
Take good care of yourself.
Thanks for sharing. My husbands father used to make this all the time. I have made it also. Thank you.
My mom has made something similar to this. We know it as goulash.
I have read about this many times in books. I love the cover on your book and would like to own it.