The Soup Diva

This is a companion post to my Hungarian Gulyas recipe as well as Chili Macfredo. It is similar to those dishes, but deserves its own mention due to differences in ingredients, especially the spice blend.

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 large (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups elbow macaroni noodles
• 1 sweet onion, diced (1/2 cup)
• 2 tsp paprika (I used 1 tsp sweet and 1 tsp smoked)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt and black pepper to taste
• dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

Brown ground beef in Dutch oven, large pot, or large skillet; do not drain. Add onion and all seasonings and stir often until onion has softened. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 cup water to deglaze bottom of pan; then pour in crushed tomatoes and noodles [note: I used 1/2 cup water to deglaze and 1/2 cup to rinse out can]. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover, allowing to simmer until noodles are desired donneness (12-15 minutes on my stove). Serve topped with cheese if desired. Keeps really well for leftovers!