American Chop Suey?

QSis

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
NCT Patron
American Chop Suey is what we New Englanders call ground beef, elbow mac, and tomatoes. Other areas call it "goulash".

How do you make yours?

Lee
 
I always think of goulash as braised beef flavored with lots of paprika - sort of like a stew. You can add potatoes or serve it over potatoes or other starch.

I've only had the ground beef/macaroni/tomato kind once.
 
SilverSage said:
I always think of goulash as braised beef flavored with lots of paprika - sort of like a stew. You can add potatoes or serve it over potatoes or other starch.
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that's goulash for me too, Hungarian specifically. I like it over egg noodles. But I was talking with a NE friend of mine and they make goulash with hotdogs and some other stuff.
 
Here's my goulash. I make it every year on Bela Lugosi's birthday - lol!

BREEZY CHICKEN HUNGARIAN GOULASH

1 pkge. (approx. 1 pound or so) boneless skinless chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
Extra-virgin oil
1 onion, peeled & chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled & chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 cup dry white wine (Chablis or Pinot Grigio work well)
1 cup chicken broth
1 can (14-15 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 bay leaves
Hot Hungarian paprika (or freshly ground black pepper) to taste
1 8-oz. can sauerkraut, undrained
1 8-oz. container sour cream
Cooked buttered egg noodles for serving

Coat bottom of large coverable skillet with olive oil. Brown chicken pieces lightly for a few minutes. Add onions, garlic, & celery & sauté until vegetables just begin to soften, being careful not to let garlic brown/burn. Add wine, broth, tomatoes, & bay leaves. Cover & simmer for 15 minutes or so, until chicken pieces are just cooked thru. Remove cover & continue simmering until liquid has reduced to a stew-like consistency (or to consistency of your taste). Remove bay leaves & stir in sauerkraut, heating thru. Add hot paprika (or black pepper) to taste. Turn off heat & stir in sour cream. Serve over cooked buttered egg noodles.
 
sigh, I wish someone had a nice classic burger pasta mater goulash recipe...
My mom and grandmom made the best, it's one of the recipes I wish I had
gotten from them.
Never heard it called American Chop Suey until I got here, LOL!
 
ok--here I go from my memory!!:huh: It is really easy and semi-homemade

My mom's recipe for American Chop Suey

1 lb ground chuck
one onion, chopped
one medium green pepper, chopped
one 15 oz can tomato sauce (I use Hunt's)
one small can tomato sauce
can of tomato paste
add some basil or oregano--I taste as I go
salt
pepper
and pinch of cayenne

brown chuck--set aside
sweat pepper and onions
I add my spices while they cook---
mix together in either large frying pan or a small dutch over--about 4 quart size
add sauce, paste rest of spices
pinch or cayenne
simmer for approx 45 min....
it is kind of sweet, but sooo good over elbows and sooo easy

the end
:encore:
 
cookingirl said:
ok--here I go from my memory!!:huh: It is really easy and semi-homemade

My mom's recipe for American Chop Suey

1 lb ground chuck
one onion, chopped
one medium green pepper, chopped
one 15 oz can tomato sauce (I use Hunt's)
one small can tomato sauce
can of tomato paste
add some basil or oregano--I taste as I go
salt
pepper
and pinch of cayenne

brown chuck--set aside
sweat pepper and onions
I add my spices while they cook---
mix together in either large frying pan or a small dutch over--about 4 quart size
add sauce, paste rest of spices
pinch or cayenne
simmer for approx 45 min....
it is kind of sweet, but sooo good over elbows and sooo easy

the end
:encore:
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That sounds so good cyn. I also like Hunt's tomato sauce.
 
i haven't made it- jake said way when ago they used to have it as kiddos & it sounded nary different to me than the dish SS described- elbows, tomato & burger. he called it goulash.

to me, the macaroni & beef stouffer's makes seems remarkably similar
 
Put simply, I make it just as though I'm making suace for speghetti.

Only thing is, that I'm using one pasta in place of the other one!

You can even use linguinie, shells, Rigatoni or whatever type of pasta that you wish. The sky's the limit!
 
I was just going to say that the afore-posted recipe looks exactly like "Spaghetti with Meat Sauce". Don't see anything "chop suey" or "goulash" about it.
 
BreezyCooking said:
I was just going to say that the afore-posted recipe looks exactly like "Spaghetti with Meat Sauce". Don't see anything "chop suey" or "goulash" about it.
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I agree. I thought "chop suey" or "goulash" had the pasta cooked in the sauce. I make something "sort" of like it but no meat. I use homemade lentil soup and tomato sauce mixed together then add small pasta or linguine and cook the pasta IN the soup/sauce "liquid". The pasta absorbs the soup and sauce liquid and is flavored by them and gets thick.
 
IT may be lookin' like that to you, but it was my mom's recipe and I remember she got it out of Good Housekeeping magazine many years ago and that is the title.......it is our 'go to' recipe...I thought I would just contribute something...it is very tasty---American Chop Suey, as far as I know is just a 'meat sauce' over elbows......nothing like hungarian goulash.......maybe it is an acronym for it
 
Goulash, as we know it and grew up eating, is a tomato sauce with ground beef and kidney beans that starts off as chile con carne, then raw rice is added to it, cooked until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

We loved it back then, and we still love it today!! I get a taste for it and make some of it now & then.
 
Right or wrong, call it what you want, but as I grew up, it was known around my neck of the woods as "American Goulash". I still call it that. I have also heard it called "American Chop Suey". My mama made it often. Basically, she would use ground beef, onions, green peppers, elbow macaroni and spaghetti sauce that was thinned out with a can of tomatoes and seasonings. Pretty much the same thing as cookingirl posted except maybe the seasonings were a little different.
 
cookingirl said:
IT may be lookin' like that to you, but it was my mom's recipe and I remember she got it out of Good Housekeeping magazine many years ago and that is the title.......it is our 'go to' recipe...I thought I would just contribute something...it is very tasty---American Chop Suey, as far as I know is just a 'meat sauce' over elbows......nothing like hungarian goulash.......maybe it is an acronym for it
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I would hate to have to correct you, but you said that it was your mom's recipe, and that she got it from the Good Housekeeping magazine, right?

Well, it ISN'T her recipe, the reason being, is that SHE got it from ANOTHER source. It wasn't something that she thought of in her head and wrote down herself. Sorry about that. :eating2:
 
Mama said:
Right or wrong, call it what you want, but as I grew up, it was known around my neck of the woods as "American Goulash". I still call it that. I have also heard it called "American Chop Suey". My mama made it often. Basically, she would use ground beef, onions, green peppers, elbow macaroni and spaghetti sauce that was thinned out with a can of tomatoes and seasonings. Pretty much the same thing as cookingirl posted except maybe the seasonings were a little different.
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First time that I've heard of it being called that.

Goulash is also in several forms and from several different countries. I've also heard of Hungarian Goulash, but never tried it yet.
 
Shermie, I think she was probably saying that her mom got the original recipe from Good Housekeeping magazine. She probably adapted it to suit her families tastes along the way. I do that all the time and refer to it as "my" recipe because I wouldn't want someone to change one of my original recipes to suit their taste and still call it mine....I might not like what they did to it and, in my eyes, it would no longer be "my" recipe if they changed it to suit their taste.
 
wow! yikes! what controversy and strong feelings this has churned up! from a simple question! maybe we should just close thsi thread! just move on!
 
cookingirl said:
IT may be lookin' like that to you, but it was my mom's recipe and I remember she got it out of Good Housekeeping magazine many years ago and that is the title.......it is our 'go to' recipe...I thought I would just contribute something...it is very tasty---American Chop Suey, as far as I know is just a 'meat sauce' over elbows......nothing like hungarian goulash.......maybe it is an acronym for it
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I am sorry I didn't mean to insult you. I make your version ALL the time and LOVE it. But I just call it pasta with meat sauce. And is also a go to meal often sometimes with meat and mushrooms or peppers added. I never heard of American Chop Suey or American goulash till I joined food forums. I was also told you should cook the pasta in the sauce. But like Mama said call it what you will it is a wonderful dish.
 
Mama said:
Shermie, I think she was probably saying that her mom got the original recipe from Good Housekeeping magazine. She probably adapted it to suit her families tastes along the way. I do that all the time and refer to it as "my" recipe because I wouldn't want someone to change one of my original recipes to suit their taste and still call it mine....I might not like what they did to it and, in my eyes, it would no longer be "my" recipe if they changed it to suit their taste.
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That could be true. Guess if she DID do that, then you're right.

And that, more than likely, was way back before the computer age of today (no insults to her at all).

But goulash is eaten by many.

Cookingirl, I'm not trying to stir up drama or contro, don't think Lilbopeep is either. Just trying to share what I learned about the dish.

Guess that everyone here has and is giving their own opinions, thoughts and views on the subject. Not a problem. :hotdog:
 
Sherman said:
That could be true. Guess if she DID do that, then you're right.

And that, more than likely, was way back before the computer age of today (no insults to her at all).

But goulash is eaten by many.

Cookingirl, I'm not trying to stir up drama or contro, don't think Lilbopeep is either. Just trying to share what I learned about the dish.

Guess that everyone here has and is giving their own opinions, thoughts and views on the subject. Not a problem. :hotdog:
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No I didn't mean to insult. I posted a reply to the recipe saying how good it sounds. I make a similar recipe to cyn's and we love it. We just don't call it chop suey or goulash. We just call it simply pasta and meat sauce. But A rose by any other name .....
 
lilbopeep said:
No I didn't mean to insult. I posted a reply to the recipe saying how good it sounds. I make a similar recipe to cyn's and we love it. We just don't call it chop suey or goulash. We just call it simply pasta and meat sauce. But A rose by any other name .....
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Yeah, I know what you mean!

Sort of like; "If it isn't broken, then don't fix it. Hah!! :heart:
 
Okay, I've done some more research on this very common New England dish. See, my father loves ACS, but he likes it WITHOUT tomatoes of any sort in it. Yeah, dry! So in my house, we always had it that way. Pretty sure we're the only ones who like it that way.

DR says she wants ACS the way that a neighbor's mother made it when she (DR) was little. Says every time she (DR) makes it, it tastes like pasta with spaghetti sauce.

So, I'm going to mix the browned ground beef, sweated green peppers and onions with a can of diced tomatoes. If THAT's not right, then I'll add some canned tomato soup to the whole thing. And seasoning.

Thanks for the discussion, everyone!

I will definitely post a picture and a review!

Lee
 
tomato soup! THAT'S the secret ingredient my mom used, I think, that
gave it the distinctive taste I liked.
Thanks QSis for jogging my memory!
 
luvs said:
it sounded nary different to me than the dish SS described- elbows, tomato & burger. he called it goulash.
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i meant the dish that lee, not SS, described. my mind was playing boggle on me that day, apparantly.:whistling:
 
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