Saturday, August 18, 2012

"Healthy" Hamburger Helper

So I used to buy Hamburger Helper quite often. It was a quick, easy meal the hubs could make while I was working or at my night class. The past few years we have been trying to eat more healthy, and stay away from preservatives and additives. Have you ever read the ingredient list on a box of Hamburger Helper? Wow! Its packed with sodium, preservatives  and additives. Yuck! Taking inspiration from several similar recipes, I came up with my own healthy version of Hamburger Helper. It is easy to put together and refridgerate, so all Mr. Browning has to do is pop it in the oven.


Ingredients

1 box of elbow macaroni
1lb. ground beef
Half an onion
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. cumin
Grated cheese



1. Brown the ground beef. Chop the onion and add to the beef. (My onions are a bit big, our onion hater was over at his girlfriend's so I was rather liberal with them.) Drain.

2. Boil macaroni. Don't overcook, make sure they are a little firm. I also like to add a splash of olive oil to my boiling noodles to keep them from sticking. Drain.



3. Add tomato sauce, water and spices to beef mixture. Let simmer for 10 minutes or so.

4. Add macaroni to to beef mixture. You may want to use only 3/4 of the noodles, a whole box makes quite a lot! Stir together and then pour into cassarole dish.


5. Grate cheese over the top and cover with foil.



6. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Take foil off and cook another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Enjoy!









6 comments:

  1. This look delicious! I'll have to try it soon! Thanks for the idea!

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  2. It's so easy for me to get off track with so many temptations. I try to compromise. I'll definitely keep this in mind

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  3. Nice, I use hamburger helper alot but thanks to this post maybe I will try making home made hamburger helpers myself, and great recipe
    schueler.jessica@yahoo.com

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  4. i loveee hamburgerr helperr ! my favoritee

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  5. this sounds great - i havent used hamburger helper in a while but i think i will try this

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