[Food] What do you call this?

[Kraken]

My Midwestern mom, of Dutch heritage, called it slumgullion. Wife's mom, of Polish heritage, called it goulash. Here in New England, I see it sold as American Chop Suey. I'm curious whether the naming differences are regional or ethnic or both.

With minor variations it consists of a pasta (usually elbow macaroni), ground beef, diced onions, and a tomato sauce. Some add cheese, peppers, mushrooms, garlic, various spices, etc.

[Jaymann]

There is a specific name that I can't quite remember. Hopefully someone else will come up with it.

[The Meal]

Casserole?

In Minnesota the folks called things that looked like casserole "hot dish," which I always found cute. (Then they tried serving me seafood with lye as an ingredient, so I stopped telling them I called their food names cute.)

[disarm]

Growing up in Indiana, most people I knew called it either 'chili mac' or goulash. Either way, I've always thought it was delicious.

[gilraen]

Goulash to me is just a meat dish, without pasta, although variations with pasta or potatoes are pretty popular.

In Russian, we call it "macaroni navy-style".

[Isgrimnur]

chili mac

[dbt1949]

My mom fixed something similar and she called it Goulash.

[LordMortis]

In elementary school the lunch was listed as goulash. Depending on how the meat was prepared as an adult, I'd call it chilimac or it would conjure elementary school memories and it would be called goulash.

[Unagi]

That looks like, and ingredient-wise close enough to what my family would basically call:

Chili-Mac

[Sudy]

That would be pasta and ground beef. (Often made with boxed mac 'n' cheese.) Also known as weekday dinner for the poor-to-middle-class.

Definitely not goulash. Calling it goulash is offensive. But I understand it's a regional thing and I will not judge. Too harshly.

[Brian]

Chili Mac

Alternative: ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning, add Kraft Mexican cheese mix and you get Taco Mac.

Alternative #2: Substitute Kielbasa sautéed in cooking sherry for the ground beef and use a mild cheddar sauce for the pasta then douse the entire thing in habanero/mango sauce and you get an affront to several cultures that's bomb ass delicious.

[Kraken]

Interesting. To me, chili mac includes kidney beans and sometimes cheese.

Cursory research tells me that "slumgullion" is of Irish derivation and "goulash" is Eastern European, but "Hungarian goulash" is something different.

[Max Peck]

I dunno, I'd call it dinner.

Also, chili doesn't have beans. Bean soup with chili seasonings probably has beans though.

[malchior]

That would be pasta and ground beef. (Often made with boxed mac 'n' cheese.) Also known as weekday dinner for the poor-to-middle-class.

Definitely not goulash. Calling it goulash is offensive. But I understand it's a regional thing and I will not judge. Too harshly.

Concur on not goulash.

[Sudy]

Chili may or may not include beans, but beans should never be mixed with pasta IMO. Generally, mixing carbs with carbs is disgusting. Potato tacos and spaghetti sandwiches, I'm looking at you. The same as when my folks served beamed chili over baked potatoes. People who put fries on your sandwiches, you're sick and need help.

Edit: I make an exception for refried beans in burritos.

[mori]

Speaking as a Polish Minnesotan that would be goulash. But it would not have elbow pasta but more of a linguini or flat type pasta, basically a stroganoff. But it will have heavy doses of Hungarian Paprika with a root vegetable mixed in.

Edit: the use of elbow pasta automatically makes it a 'mac something.

[Exodor]

Cursory research tells me that "slumgullion" is of Irish derivation and "goulash" is Eastern European, but "Hungarian goulash" is something different.

I've only run into the word slumgullion a few times and it's always referred to clam chowder with bay shrimp and cheese on it. The wife claims that's a central Oregon coast thing which is the only place I've ever encountered it.



The monstrosity in the OP is chili mac or maybe Hamburger Helper.

[Sudy]

I asked my mother what the macaroni and ground beef dish is called and she didn't really have a name for it either. Mac & cheese hamburger casserole, generically. But I don't think it was usually baked, so it wouldn't technically be a casserole. Just fry the beef and cook the pasta. It was a frequent weekday dinner that sometimes had additional ingredients and a side vegetable. We often also had it on Hallowe'en owing to the colours. My favourite was a variation with white mac & cheese and peas. Really, I think we're just talking about generic cheap-ass food in my family's case.

But she reminded me there was something my grandmother fed her growing up that my mother also made sometimes when I was young. "Jocelyn's Surprise." I can find no mention of this after a brief googling. Sounds like the re-naming of a generic dish from a 50s or 60s cookbook. Anyway, it's basically noodles, beef, cheddar cheese (or cheese sauce), corn, and diced tomato or tomato soup. Seasoned with onion, parsley, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and curry powder apparently. I actually like the addition of corn in this recipe.

[Alefroth]

Chili mac.

In the Army mess it was also called chili mac and served way too frequently.

[stimpy]

Chili Mac

[Alefroth]

Chili may or may not include beans, but beans should never be mixed with pasta IMO. Generally, mixing carbs with carbs is disgusting. Potato tacos and spaghetti sandwiches, I'm looking at you. The same as when my folks served beamed chili over baked potatoes. People who put fries on your sandwiches, you're sick and need help.

Edit: I make an exception for refried beans in burritos.

You consider beans carbs? They've always bean protein to me.

[Sudy]

They occupy the place of a starchy thing. They're protein but also carbs. E.g. potatoes and corn are vegetables, but they're also carbs, etc.

[Blackhawk]

And yet there is bean dip (eaten with pure carb chips), chili cheese fries, etc.

[Alefroth]

And pasta fazool. Hummus and pita. Rice and beans.

[YellowKing]

My wife makes a variation of it we’ve always called “Ma’ ca’ la’ ca.” I assume the Ma stands for macaroni and the Ca stands for casserole. No clue what the other two syllables stand for.

We got the name from a handwritten recipe card that her mom passed down to her. Her mom doesn’t know where the name came from either as she got it from her mom.

At any rate, it’s delicious. She always spices it up with a ton of hot sauce.

[Isgrimnur]

BOOM, Macalaca!

[Kraken]

Chili may or may not include beans, but beans should never be mixed with pasta IMO.

Before this thread I thought I had invented chili mac, because long ago, as a starving college student, I hit on the idea of adding pasta to extend chili when the pot started getting low. It would start out as chili with some macaroni in it and end up as macaroni with a little chili on it.

The monstrosity in the OP is chili mac or maybe Hamburger Helper.

The photo is from a google image search on "slumgullion."

But she reminded me there was something my grandmother fed her growing up that my mother also made sometimes when I was young. "Jocelyn's Surprise." I can find no mention of this after a brief googling. Sounds like the re-naming of a generic dish from a 50s or 60s cookbook.

My mom had a recipe called "Teenager's Delight." I remember it featured ground beef topped with tater tots, but not what else was in it. Maybe cheese. Probably nothing healthy. I think it was a casserole (baked), unlike slumgullion/chili mac which is a skillet dish.

[Lassr]

chili mac

That's what I called it also...unless it specifically came from a hamburger helper box, then it was hamburger helper. But if we made it our selves it was chili mac.

[Kraken]

Upon further reflection, I didn't invent chili mac. I invented chilighetti. I shouldn't need to explain the difference.

[Sudy]

And pasta fazool. Hummus and pita. Rice and beans.

Yes OK, I have no problem with these things. Maybe it's a proportions thing.

[em2nought]

BOOM, Macalaca!

Too close to Greek moussaka.


I'd call the OP image chili mac, but I prefer taco mac. Even better yet my version of my mother's "Shipwreck" with ground pork instead of hamburger, taco seasoning instead of tomato soup, chopped onions, and kidney beans leaving out the thin sliced potatoes. I need a casserole dish shaped like a row boat

Great eats for watching the original Swiss Family Robinson.

[LordMortis]

And yet there is bean dip (eaten with pure carb chips), chili cheese fries, etc.

I don't think of chili as meat only. In fact a meat only chili by itself isn't something that appeals to me, but chili cheese fris is made with "coney sauce" aka meat chili. No beans. No beans go on a coney (chili dog) either, nor chili nachos.

I've never heard of slumgullion until this thread.

[Max Peck]

My mom had a recipe called "Teenager's Delight." I remember it featured ground beef topped with tater tots, but not what else was in it. Maybe cheese. Probably nothing healthy. I think it was a casserole (baked), unlike slumgullion/chili mac which is a skillet dish.

Sounds like hotdish (which I only know about because I have a friend who loathes it).

[Madmarcus]

Goulash had more sauce when I was growing up; almost a soup. Probably closer to a Hungarian goulash. Of course looking at that picture I think my mom would have added more cheese and baked it to make it a casserole. Chili mac is something I never heard of until college and now I always associate it with actually having chili powder in it so unless that has chili powder I wouldn't call it chili mac.

I'd probably call it fancy mac and cheese or something. Homemade hamburger helper sounds ok.

[Zarathud]

Mac casserole

[The Meal]

Sounds like hotdish (which I only know about because I have a friend who loathes it).

[Max Peck]

Sounds like hotdish (which I only know about because I have a friend who loathes it).

I'm pretty sure it's one of those growing-up-poor and this-reminds-me-of-growing-up-poor things.

[Zenn7]

Goulash.

Until I met my wife and she introduces me to her chili (not a big chili fan except chili-dogs and chili on fries) - and their version of chili in her family was pretty much... goulash.

Slumgullian was kind of a mish-mash leftovers, mixed veggies, think pasta and kielbasa I think maybe? What ever sauce there was was more white and thick, not runny (been a few decades, not one of my favorite dishes).

[GreenGoo]

Casserole?

+1

Macaroni/Hamburger casserole. Which is a billion different dishes.

[Isgrimnur]

BOOM, Macalaca!

Too close to Greek moussaka.