Goulash; gulyás

It's no secret that I am of Eastern European descent. This recipe comes from my mom's side of the family, and it is an inspired Goulash stew (pronounced "goo yash"... say it right or my grandma will get the wooden spoon). You can add beef, but I used turkey pepperettes because I had a whole bunch in my fridge. I personally prefer sweet paprika, but you can always add heat with the hot variety. Enjoy

Ingredients:
8-10 Small Turkey Pepperettes
1 medium onion
3 tbls cooking oil
5-6 medium peeled and diced potatoes
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
2.5 cups of water
2 tbls paprika

Directions:
1. Cut pepperettes into 1 cm rounds, and brown in oil on medium high heat.
2. Add onions, and cook until lightly browned.
3. Add paprika and bay leaves, and turn stove down to a simmer.
4. Add the potatoes, and season stew with salt and pepper.
5. Add water, cover and simmer until potatoes are done and meat is tender. A slow simmer is the key to making this stew really tasty.

Optional Dumplings:
- 1 egg
-6 Tbls flour
- 1/8 tsp salt

Add flour to unbeaten egg and salt. Mix well and let stand for 30 minutes for flour to mellow. Drop by teaspoonful into Goulash. Cover and simmer 10 minutes after dumplings rise to surface.

Serve hot with dollops of sour cream.
Serves 4.