"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!