Homemade Hamburger Helper

As many of you probably did, I had Hamburger Helper a lot growing up. I always liked it too, it was a completely thoughtless dinner to throw together in a hurry. However, after the birth of our son I began changing our diets, slowly, and now we eat almost no processed food whatsoever. Since our diets have improved, hubby's asthma has disappeared, and he used to need an inhaler multiple times per day. That's enough reason, but I want my kids to eat healthy too.

Scary Ingredient List...

I read the ingredients on the label of Betty's box, and decided I didn't want to feed my family MSG or partially hydrogenated oils (which are trans fats, even though the label says there is none) nor do I need my food to have at least three colors added. Plus the wiki page on disodium guanylate says asthmatics should avoid it, among other health concerns. As much as this makes me want to rant about why someone in the FDA isn't doing something to stop this, I'll probably get further by voting with my wallet. I threw out 5 boxes of it and haven't bought it since. However, making meals from scratch is time consuming, and with two kids now I need quick meals that are still healthy.

It seriously only takes 30 minutes, from start to finish. Just like the box crap. The flavor is amazing, so much better, and it reheats well too. Makes me wonder why it never occurred to me to make these myself to begin with. The basic Cheeseburger Macaroni I had everything on hand for, and I'm anxious to try to make a mexican rice version. You could even prepackage the ingredients in bags if you wanted and just throw it together.


The original blog I found with a recipe for cheeseburger mac is below my recipe, but I tweaked it and the recipe I ended up using follows.


Cheeseburger Macaroni 


1 lb. lean ground beef
1 t. sugar 
1 T. cornstarch
1 t. black pepper
1 t. onion powder
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
2 t. paprika
2 c. milk
1 c. hot water
1 1/2 c. pasta
1-2 c. mexican shredded cheese (or cheddar)

Brown the beef, drain if necessary. Add hot water, milk, pasta and spices, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover, cook around 10-12 minutes or until pasta is tender. Add cheese and stir.

http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/10/23/successful-hamburger-helper-substitute/



Cheesy Enchilada Style

Note: I took a picture of this but it just doesn't look very good...it is rice, beef and cheese after all...
However, it is absolutely delicious, especially spicy and on a flour tortilla!

1 lb. ground beef
1 c. rice
2 c. water
1/4 white onion
1 c. tomato sauce
1 T. chili powder
1 T. taco seasoning
1 T. garlic powder
1 t. oregano
1 t. red pepper
1/2 t. cayenne (opt.)
1 c. shredded mexican cheese

Brown beef, rinse to drain well (grease will interfere with the rice cooking). Add all remaining ingredients except cheese, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes. Taste and modify spices/add water if necessary. Also good with homemade tortilla chips.

This is my own recipe adapted from the HH version.


Beef Stroganoff

Adapted from many recipes online and trial and error.

1 lb. ground beef
1/4 white onion
3 c. milk
2 c. water
4 c. pasta (smaller style is preferable, we like rotini)
2 beef bouillon cubes (or Better than Bouillon paste)
2 t. paprika
2 t. garlic powder
1 t. pepper
1 T. Worcestershire*
1 T. cornstarch/dry milk powder
6 T. sour cream

Brown beef, drain if necessary. Add remaining ingredients except sour cream, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes. After pasta is done, thicken up sauce with cornstarch or dry milk powder. Add sour cream, mix and serve.

*We never use the Worcestershire because hubby won't touch it, but I think it would be a great addition for extra flavor.

So that's all for my Hamburger Helper knockoff recipes! Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!