December 1, 2009 | Mama Smith

embarrassing recipe

I tend to stay away from overly-processed, quick-fix meals for a host of reasons, but mainly because if I can’t stand the look or smell or idea of something before it’s mixed together with a bunch of other ingredients, that’s all I’m going to be thinking about when I’m trying to actually eat it.

But there was a day, five years ago, when I was newly pregnant with Brighton and a friend invited us over to dinner. Dinner involving Velveeta cheese. What is Velveeta cheese anyhow?! Actually, don’t tell me. I think I will cry. In that newly pregnant, obsessively-concerned state, I was terrified of what that wobbling hunk of processed cheese might do to my child and actually contemplated faking morning sickness to avoid eating it.

That is until I took my first bite. I think I unabashedly went back for thirds AND fourths.

The recipe is broadly know as Goulash. Which in my definition means lots of gross ingredients mixed together into something amazing. Or at least comforting. Don’t knock it til you try it…

1lb ground beef, browned with a chopped onion
1 box of shells or macaroni noodles or (whatever suits your fancy), cooked
1 small block of Velveeta cheese, chopped up
1 can of tomato soup

Wow, I cannot even believe I just typed out that mix of creepy ingredients and admitting I made this…and advocating it, while eating yet another bowl at 9pm. Oh dear Lord, something MUST be seriously wrong with me.

Ah well, stir it all up until everything is nice and melted and you’ll be eating leftovers 3 hours after you just consumed 2 bowls of it for dinner. Like I am doing now. Life is short. You might as well indulge in the mysterious ingredients of the grocery store every now and then.

But before you run off shrieking in terror at my eating preferences this evening, I know you have an embarrassing, but delicious recipe in your cooking repertoire. And you MUST share!!