Goulash

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds lean ground beef 2 large yellow onions, chopped 3 cloves garlic, chopped 3 cups water 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

3 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons dried Italian herb seasoning 3 bay leaves 1 tablespoon seasoned salt, or to taste 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large Dutch oven, cook and stir the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until the meat is no longer pink and has started to brown, about 10 minutes. Skim off excess fat, and stir in the onions and garlic. Cook and stir the meat mixture until the onions are translucent, about 10 more minutes.
2.	Stir in water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, and seasoned salt, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3.	Stir in the macaroni, cover, and simmer over low heat until the pasta is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and serve.

Sriracha Honey Slow Cooker Meatballs

MAKES 24  |  ACTIVE TIME 20 Min  |  TOTAL TIME 4 Hours 20 Minutes

1 cup sriracha hot chili sauce (Huy Fong, the one with the rooster on the package)
1 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (approximately 2 limes)
2 pounds lean ground beef (I used 85%)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 large eggs

Combine sriracha, honey and lime juice in a slow cooker on high heat.

In a large bowl add remaining ingredients, except eggs. Stir sriracha sauce in slow cooker until combined.  Taste and add additional honey or sriracha as necessary to suit your heat preference. Add 1/4 cup of sauce into meatball mixture, fold mixture together 2 times, then add eggs.  

Mix well, do not over mix or you will have tough meatballs. Place a sheet of wax paper (approximately 9"x9") on your countertop. Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, portion out meat and place on wax paper.  After all meatballs have been scooped, roll into balls and place them into the slow cooker. Once about half of the meatballs are in the slow cooker, spoon sauce over the tops of them. Continue adding meatballs until they are all in the slow cooker.  You may have to layer them, just be sure the bottom layer is thoroughly coated in sauce before you add the next layer.

Reduce heat to low, cover slow cooker and cook for 4-8 hours. Serve and enjoy.

COOK'S NOTE:  If you lightly wet your hands the meatballs will form better and crack less.

You can take the lid off after 2 hours to allow the sauce to thicken or you can transfer the sauce to saucepan on the stove top and cook until reduced by half, or to desired consistency. The meatballs are perfect whether the sauce is cooked down or not. It is personal preference.

Sriracha is HOT is it HOT CHILI sauce. This recipe is medium heat. If you prefer insanely hot, decrease the amount of honey and increase the sriracha. If you prefer milder heat increase the honey and decrease the sriracha.