celery

Chopped Salad with Creamy Balsamic Dressing
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Chopped Salad with Creamy Balsamic Dressing

My Dad used to call it Israeli Salad said he learned it from and Indian in the war but he said that about most everything. Anyway it was Wednesday which is salad night at our house so I open the fridge and went to town.

Pear, kale, lettuce, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, zucchini, green pepper, broccolini, celery, carrots, radishes, roasted chickpeas, bacon and I added some mayo to the balsamic vinegerete dressing we had.

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From The Garden Goulash
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From The Garden Goulash

I had a bowl full of cherry tomatoes, a yellow pepper and a pound of 90% burger from wholefoods and even though Lyn is not crazy about this dish I had a craving. So in this case the heck with her its all about me this time. I grew up calling a similar dish American Chop Suey so I based it a lot on my recipe but i’ve seen it been called Goulash so since this was different I ‘ll call it such.

 

Ingredients

  • 1 lbs of hamburger
  • Maybe 30 quartered cherry tomatoes
  • One yellow bell pepper cored and chops
  • 2 stalks of celery thinly sliced cross wise.
  • 1/2 cup of Lyn’s pasta sauce which included a splash of water maybe 1/4 cup worth
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon basil
  • A pinch or so of red pepper flakes, depending how spicy you like it

I tired something I read on browning the burger and I have to say I think it worked. I flatten the burger out and place on the preheated pan on high with a little oil and browned on that side for a few minutes over medium, turning down the heat to medium as soon as it hit the hot pan.

Flipped it and then started to break up into smaller chunks. this did as I read kept the meat moister. I used to immediately start to chop up the meat. I had already added the pepper and celery and by the time the meat had browned they were limp but still had a little bite to them. Mine was 90% lean so there was very little fat render if you used 80% or lower then drain the fat out.

I then added the spices , tomatoes and sauce  mixing well and brought to simmer then stirred occasionally. 

In the meantime I had a plan I was going to freeze a lot of the meat mixture for a quick easy future bachelor meal so instead of cooking the one pound of elbow pasta I only cooked up 1 cup.  and I only cook for 5 minutes.

When the pasta was done and bowled I scooped the meat mixture on top, mix to coat well it up and then being raised by my dad squirted some ketchup on it.  I know I know I know.

It was quick and easy but did create a bunch of pots and pans but well with. Lyn shook her head and had a salad for lunch.