Monday, May 11, 2009

Chicken Mushroom Goulash. Changes lifes.

Let me just warn you.

This, my dear friends, is my favorite recipe ever. Ever ever ever. It's so mushroomy and warm and paprika-y. You'll die for it, I promise.

I don't really promise that. But it's delicious and easy and makes a ton of leftovers. It started out as this Rachel Ray recipe, but I've altered it to suit my tastes. Mainly, I quadruple the amount of mushrooms.

If mushrooms were a man, I would marry him. If you don't like mushrooms, first of all we are no longer friends, and second of all you can omit them if you want and add other veggies. But please try to like mushrooms. They are a lot of what is good and decent in this world.

First, go to the store and buy this stuff:


That two bags of frozen gnocchi, two pounds ground turkey (I used the superlean stuff and it was still outstanding), two pounds of white mushrooms, olive oil, butter (I shamelessly use margarine), 1 can tomato sauce, 1/2 C. sour cream, one onion (or two halves, because two halves make a whole. See, I'm going to make a great math teacher), a couple cloves of garlic, a bell pepper, an optional jalepeno, and a lot of paprika. The paprika is what makes goulash goulash, so go get some. And I didn't take a picture of chicken stock, but you'll need some of that too.

Can I tell you how I choose my peppers? By how curious their stems are. A little quirk of mine. And please, if you do add the jalepeno, do not chop it and then rub your eye. It is much more painful than it sounds.



And if it's Cinco de Mayo and your mother loves you, she will bring you one of these to enjoy while cooking.


Why didn't I make Mexican for Cinco de Mayo you ask? Because I believe America is a place where different cultures can live in harmony. Mexico, meet Hungary.

Geneva conventions happen in my house.

The first thing to do is get about two tablespoons butter and two tablespoons olive oil and get 'em hot. I use an electric skillet, because, well, I live with my parents and that is what they have.


Then, brown the chicken until thoroughly cooked. This takes a while, so use the time to chop up some of your veggies. Or drink your Corona. I won't judge.

After the chicken is browned, move it to the edges and dump in about half your veggies. Your kitchen will start to smell amazing right about now.


After those veggies have cooked down, dump in the rest.


While these are cooking down, this is a good time to boil the water for the gnocchi. So go do that.

After the veggies are nice and soft, season with salt and pepper, mix it all together and add the tomato sauce and chicken stock. Let it come to a bubble.



This picture shows just how much paprika I like to add. I think the recipe calls for 2 tsp. paprika. Rachael Ray, I love you and your food, but that is not enough paprika for goulash. I add close to two tablespoons. And I'm not sorry about it.


Once the spices are mixed it, add the sour cream to thicken. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Your water should be boiling by now, so go ahead and plop in your gnocchi (please do not burn yourself by plopping!). When the gnocchi are finished, they will float, like this:


Drain, perhaps in your brand new sink colander your mother just bought. But if it's fine mesh like this, put a paper towel down. These dishes were a bear to do.


Dump the gnocchi straight into your skilled with your mushroomy, paprikay goulash and stir to coat.



Yum. Yum yum yum yum yum. I could eat this every day. I mean that. THIS is comfort food!!

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