One taste of this one-pot dish sends me back to my elementary school days.

When my best friend and I would feel so grown-up whenever we had the rare chance to cook dinner for ourselves when our parents were out.

We’d grab wooden spoons like microphones and pretend we were stars in our own cooking show.

As we hungrily and proudly dug into the comforting dish we had put together with our own wit,

Granted, Hamburger Helper wasn’t the most ambitious dinner to make. But we didn’t care. We loved the taste and the sense of freedom it gave us.

“American Goulash” is a fresher, homemade version of that nostalgic store-bought product that is just about as fast and easy to make, too.

Only this version is by Michael Symon, the James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur, and Emmy-winning television personality known his Food Network shows and co-hosting ABC’s “The Chew.” I also had the distinct pleasure of helping judge a cookie baking contest in San Francisco with him many years ago, and he is a hoot to be around.

This recipe is featured in his latest cookbook, “Simply Symon Suppers” (Clarkson Potter, 2023), of which I received a review copy. This is his eighth cookbook.

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