I know, I know, this isn’t really goulash at all. But apparently it is what my mom referred to as goulash. I don’t have a lot of memories of the various dishes my mom cooked, which makes me sad, but I do distinctly remember a cheesy, saucy baked pasta dish that contained sour cream and green onions – and Mom called it “goulash”. I never thought twice about the name at the time, of course, I just wanted more of that yummy pasta! Since becoming interested in cooking, I was inspired to make this old favorite. I dug through all of her recipe boxes and cookbooks but nothing called goulash or even resembling this dish was to be found. What a bummer! I thought briefly about attempting to recreate it, but I didn’t think I would be able to make a close approximation since it is nearing 20 years since I enjoyed her version.
You can imagine my excitement then, when a week or two ago I was browsing food blogs and came across this recipe. It looked and sounded just like Mom’s goulash. I made a few changes, but this recipe turned out to be the perfect base in finding my way back to Mom’s casserole. It tasted exactly like I remember – it even brought back memories of which dish she baked it in. I can’t help but wonder if this is a meal that my kids will remember and want to make in their own homes someday.
