Ingredients
- Chili Cheese Hamburger Helper:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Preparation
Step 1
Brown ground beef in a large skillet; drain.
Add hot water, milk, pasta and your homemade sauce packet (corn starch, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar, and paprika).
Bring to boil.
Cover and simmer on low about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender.
In last few minutes of cook time, stir in cheese; cover pot again for final few minutes of cook time.
When pasta is tender and cheese is melted, turn off heat and uncover. Let mixture stand, uncovered, about five minutes. It will continue to thicken as it stands.
You can make your Homemade Hamburger Helper in advance by pre-measuring pasta. Place in sandwich-size baggie. Snack-size baggies are perfect for sauce mix. Measured pasta can be used in number of Hamburger Helper varieties. Just label sauce mix so you’ll know what you’re picking up then grab whichever bag of pasta you need. For cheese, you can pre-measure your shredded cheese, or just measure it as you need it.
Here’s how to put together several popular varieties and your standardized directions. Have a big family (or just big eaters)? Double or triple recipe and use big pot! Note: These are not amazingly inventive gourmet meals. But they are homemade lifesavers for busy days.
Step One: Brown and drain one pound of ground beef.
Step Two: Add 3 cups of liquid (water and/or milk) along with your 1 1/2 cups of pasta, sliced potatoes*, or rice (use only 1 cup of rice), sauce packet, and sometimes tomatoes. Simmer covered. Simmer time will be approximately 12-20 minutes for most varieties. If cheese is used, stir it in during last few minutes of cook time and put cover back on pot.
Step Three: Turn off heat and uncover. (Some varieties have cheese tossed on as topping at end instead of or in addition to being mixed in.) Let stand to thicken at least 5 minutes before serving.
*When using potatoes, slice potatoes very thinly, like very thin potato chips. (If you find that difficult or annoying, you could finely dice potatoes instead.) Add cook time if necessary, till potatoes are tender. Some varieties use shredded potatoes. To save time on busy nights, you can slice, dice, or shred potatoes in advance in pre-measured quantities and freeze. Then all you have to do is take out your bag of potatoes and drop them in skillet. (To freeze potatoes–slice, dice, or shred then blanch for about two minutes in boiling water. Drain and cool then freeze. You can also dehydrate sliced or shredded potatoes for homemade helpers.) Note: There’s a good suggestion in comments about keeping store-bought frozen potatoes on hand as a shortcut for homemade helpers!
A number of varieties require tomatoes. (Store-bought Hamburger Helper uses dried tomatoes.) Use canned stewed or diced tomatoes for homemade helper, reducing hot water by 1/4 cup because you’re also adding some liquid along with tomatoes. (I use my own home-canned tomatoes.)
Feeling frisky? Use add-ins anytime you feel like taking an extra few seconds. A cup of pinto or red beans works great in chili mac, for example. Chopped peppers also work well in many varieties, as do all sorts of other vegetables. As a rule of thumb, use one cup for your add-in (if using multiple add-ins, combine them to add up to one cup). You can use more than a cup, of course, though keep in mind that you may overwhelm dish if you use too much. When using add-ins like mushrooms, onions, peppers, etc, either saute them first separately or put them in as you brown the ground beef to saute them. Like heat? Add some ground cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes to any variety for a spicier version.
In case of stroganoff, an add-in of 1 cup of sliced fresh mushrooms is suggested. You can make stroganoff without mushrooms, but it’s just not the same. Store-bought Hamburger Helper uses dried mushrooms in their stroganoffs. If you can get your hands on some dried mushrooms, add a teaspoon (to sauce packet) in place of sliced, fresh mushrooms. But really. Use fresh. It’ll only take a few minutes to prepare them, not adding much to your effort. You can even buy pre-sliced mushrooms if you prefer.
Once you get hang of basic principles, you can make any kind of helper you want! As you try any of these for first time, choose an evening when you have time and add sauce ingredients (except for corn starch) sparingly. Taste test while you’re cooking to adjust seasonings to your own preferences. These measurements are suggestions to get you started. Once you know how you like it, make up your own sauce packets for future use.
*Chili Mac:*
1 pound ground beef
2 1/4 cups hot water
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
1 cup stewed or diced canned tomatoes
_Sauce packet:_
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup cheddar or jack cheese, shredded, stir in nearend
*Lasagna:*
1 pound ground beef
2 1/4 cups hot water
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups lasagna broken into small pieces or small egg noodles
1 cup stewed or diced canned tomatoes
_Sauce packet:_
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon mixed Italian herbs
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded, stir in near the end, then sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese during the 5-minute standing period.
*Cheesy Beef Taco:*
1 pound ground beef
2 1/4 cups hot water
1/2 cup milk
1 cup rice
1 cup stewed or diced canned tomatoes
_Sauce packet:_
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar.
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded, stir in near end
_Topping:_
1/2 cup cheddar plus
1 cup of Fritos
*Beef Stroganoff:*
1 pound ground beef
1 cup hot water
2 cups milk (if you have sour cream, replace 1/2 cup of the milk with sour cream)
1 1/2 cups small egg noodles
_Sauce packet:_
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms.
*Potato Stroganoff:*
1 pound ground beef
1 cup hot water
2 cups milk (if you have sour cream, replace 1/2 cup of milk with sour cream)
1 1/2 cups very thinly sliced or diced potatoes
_Sauce packet:_
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms.
*Salisbury:*
1 pound ground beef
1 cup hot water and 2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups small egg noodles
_Sauce packet:_
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
*Cheesy Italian Shells:*
1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup hot water
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups small pasta shells
1 cup stewed or diced canned tomatoes
_Sauce packet:_
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon mixed Italian herbs
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup cheddar, shredded (at the end)
*Cheesy Jambalaya:*
1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup hot water
2 cups milk
1 cup rice
1 cup stewed or diced canned tomatoes
_Sauce packet:_
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded, stir in near end
*Cheeseburger Macaroni:*
1 pound ground beef
1 cup hot water
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
_Sauce packet:_
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded, stir in near end.
_Topping:_
1/2 cup cheddar