Make your own "Hamburger Helper" type meal

[GB]

purrfectlydevine as long as it is not copyrighted then it is fine to post here

 

[purrfectlydevine]

Almost Hamburger Helper

Almost Hamburger Helper" Mix in a Jar

2 cups nonfat dry milk
1 cup corn starch
1/4 cup beef bouillon powder
2 TBSP onion flakes
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. black pepper
2 TBSP dried parsley
1 TBSP garlic powder

Mix the ingredients together and stor in a airtight jar. Attach the following recipes to the jar.

CHILI MAC:

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1 cup water
1/2 cup macaroni (uncooked)
2 cans (14.5oz.) diced tomatoes
1 TBSP chili powder
1/2 cup "Almost Hamburger Helper" mix

Combine all ingredients and simmer 20 minutes or until macaroni is cooked.



HAMBURGER STROGANOFF

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
2 cups water
1/2 cup "Almost Hamburger Helper" mix
2 cups uncooked egg noodles
1/2 cup sour cream

Combine all ingredients except the sour cream. Simmer 20 minutes or until noodles are tender. Stir in the sour cream and serve.



POTATO BEEF CASSEROLE

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
3/4 cup water
6 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup frozen mixed veggies
1/2 cup "Almost Hamburger Helper" mix

Combine all ingredients and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove cover and cook until excess water is evaporated.



QUICK LASAGNA:

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 cup "Almost Hamburger Helper" Mix
1 onion, chopped
2 cups water
16-oz. tomato sauce
3 cups lasagna noodles, uncooked, broken in bits
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Combine all ingredients except the mozzarella in large skillet. Bring to a boil, let simmer for 15 minutes or until noodles are cooked. Top with mozzarella. Turn off heat and let the cheese melt.

I have made the potato beef casserole and next time I'll will cut the quantity of poatatoes by half. I needed to add extra water because I was afraid it would stick of burn before fully cooked, but maybe I was using too high heat.

I have also made the quick lasagna using regular egg noodles because that is what I had. Again I had to add extra water.

My family rated the lasagna better than the potato casserole.

If you use low sodium beef bouillon powder you will need to add salt, but that way you know exactly how much if that is a concern.

 

[licia]

That would probably be healthier than the original. I wonder if something like that is in one of my make-a-mix cookbooks. I haven't looked at those in years.

 

[GB]

purrfectlydevine thank you SO much! That is exactly what I was looking for. I can't wait to try this!!!

 

[Claire]

Hamburger helper was invented when I was a teenager, and we used it when we were camping on rainy nights, or when my mother was having surgery! My recommendation is that if you like it, don't knock it, just add (as Mom did) a good veggie side -- sliced tomatoes or cukes, a bag of mixed greens. You can make a slaw and it will last you several meals. I now make a great stroganof that was first inspired by my love of Hamburger Helper Potato Stroganof. I make it from scratch now, with beef and egg noodles and fresh sour cream. But if I hadn't used that Hamburger Helper, it wouldn't have been one of my early loves and experiments in cooking. Ironically, my husband and I both impressed each other with our love of stroganof when we were dating (he decided he preferrred mine). Hey, Hamburger Helper ain't all bad!

 

[dgail620]

purrfectlydevine,
Thank you for the recipes! Do you by chance have one for Cheeseburger Macaroni? On the rate occasion I use HH, that is my fav.

 

[TxNorma]

Homemade Hamburger Helper

I've made my own for YEARS......ONE package wouldn't feed my gang of kids....for the Chili version, I add Rotel tomatoes, garlic, chili powder ........the Cheesburger version gets a can of Campbell's cheddar cheese soup and of course, garlic.......Stroganoff gets cream of mushroom soup and sour cream if it's on hand. I always just kinda tossed stuff into the pot of browned meat and pre-cooked noodles, adjusting spices to taste. And one kid couldn't have salt for a while, so I used salt free versions of the soups, etc

 

[Piccolina]

How did I miss this thread??? I've been meaning to ask for homemade Hamburger Helper recipes for ages! You see, they don't have it in Ireland, but I wanted my Italian DH to get a taste of a total North American classic! A thousand thank-yous to all you guys for your recipes and tips

 

[RMS]

I make a quick tomato sauce, brown the chopped meat, toss it in and then add some uncooked pasta. I guess it's like beef a roni, only better!

 

[Piccolina]

I'm excited, I am going to make homemade Hamburger Helper for dinner tonight. I had a tough time tracking down dried milk powder here (hard to believe, I know, that seems like such a staple item ). I found a box (very $), I think it is a German brand, the lady at the shop assured me that it was in fact dried milk (no English on the box), so I am just going to assume that it is like the North American brands I've tried. I'm also going to use ground turkey, and hope to end up with a flavour that is somewhere between "beef noodle" and stroganoff. Fingers crossed that is all works out!

 

[wrigh003]

Neat site, and huge! Somebody on another board pointed me here, adn I thought I'd comment on those Vigo rice packets that somebody posted about early in the thread:

They taste pretty good, but are <RonWhite>Loooooooooooooooaded</RonWhite> with salt. The jambalaya packet makes an acceptable version, but I would probably be most likely to take it backpacking with me rather than eating it at home. Yellow rice is less salty, and makes a good accompaniment to grilled chicken, etc.

 

[Robo410]

well, a lot of those flavor packets contain "thickener" for the sauces...gluten and soy etc. They are not just spices. But a hamburger stoganoff is easy enough to make with hamburger, onion soup mix, some sliced mushrooms and a pt of sour cream. Many of the pasta ones can be made with hamburger, a jar of classico, ready cook lazagna and shredded mozzarellla.

Frankly I can't imagine the freezer ready ones (meat veg n all) tasting worth my $$$ when I can have fresh meat and vegetables stir fried over rice quickly. One can precook a lot of rice, freeze in small containers and nuke up when ready. That may save some time if 20 min is too long.

 

[spanishrice7]

When my fiance and I first opened a box of hamburger helper we did everything by the box, and the convenience was just so tempting that we must have tried every variety multiple times before coming to our conclusion: there had to be a better way to cook these meals without the tomato (I'm allergic) and the sodium. Just stay away from the seasoning packages. You're much better off using your own spices anyway, to suit your own tastes at least. A lot of sodium sneaks in with cheap quality ground beef as well, so dont cut corners in that department, look for lean meat. Also a trick that we like to utilize in many recipes, is substituting broth for water when cooking rice and pasta, in order to not have to add more seasoning later.

 

[Sandyj]

Hi GB, when I lived overseas there really wasn't much in the pre-prepared foods aisle at the supermarket, and I worked full time with three little girls. I used to come home and drop my bags and go straight into the kitchen and try to get dinner on the table as quickly as possible. I made up some dishes that could maybe work for you....I really liked purrfectlydivine's idea for making a "hamburger helper" mix!

My ideas are not original - I see variations all over this post!

Essentially, I'd brown mince meat (steak mince usually (hamburger)), add seasonings (worcestershire sauce, beef broth, salt, pepper, garlic -- whatever strikes your fancy), frozen veggies, raw rice and liquid, then leave to simmer for 1/2 hour or so. My mom calls dishes like this "Hot Pot". They are filling, quick and cheap and can be done in one pot.

This works nicely with chicken: brown the chicken as you would the minced meat, then, throw in some rice, garlic powder maybe (fresh is nicer of course, but to save time I guess you'd use the packaged stuff....), a packet of Goya chicken boullion & water, or some nice pre-packaged chicken broth, frozen broccoli florets......and Bob's your uncle, you have a nice meal.

I cooked for my girls right from the get-go - pre-packaged baby foods were prohibitively expensive. I'd do a squash or something in one pot, then mash it. They ate very very well.

Good Luck finding the right 'mix' for you - even today I'm still working full time, the girls are 21, 19 and 17 and my husband comes in starving every night and it's still a challenge - although these days they do pitch in.

 

[purrfectlydevine]

purrfectlydevine,
Thank you for the recipes! Do you by chance have one for Cheeseburger Macaroni? On the rate occasion I use HH, that is my fav.

Sorry I didn't see the replies before this. For cheeseburger macaroni, I looked at the chili mac, which called for 1/2 cup uncooked macaroni and 1 cup of water and would add the those to the browned and drained meat and the "mix". I would add a can of cheddar cheese soup thinned with milk or water to sauce consistency and see how it tastes. You might want to add a little tomato sauce also. Hope this helps.

 

[licia]

I don't understand WHY so many packaged foods contain such a vast amount of salt. I bought a couple of those New Orleans type foods and they were so salty we couldn't eat them. My gd had told me she cooked them and liked it. I don't think that much salt is required to preserve the ingredients. It really worries me that so many of our young people may be overdoing it with those products.

 

[velochic]

I've been told by friends that it is indeed the preservative effect. It can stand on shelves for lifetimes with the salt.

I get sick from the chemical taste of such things, but that's just me (well, and the rest of my family.) Oh, my husband and I can hardly stand anything out of can or box. It hides the true taste of the food. There must be a reason good restaurants use fresh ingredients.

 

[starbasset]

My favorite seasonings

It's nice to be able to put the ingredients you/family like when you do it yourself and avoid any preservatives, etc. Many of the prepared packets contain MSG. I use herbs (fresh & dry) like garlic, black pepper, some salt, onion, thyme, cumin, sage, paprika (when I want some color.) I adjust the spices according to the dish I'm making.