Friday, August 19, 2011

Hamburger Helper Helped Her

Make a... Meal

Short on time, energy and inspiration? Hamburger Helper is something I keep handy.     


Get it? HAND-Y?  Anyway. The box of Hamburger Helper (HH) keeps for a long time in the pantry, and I keep a supply of browned ground beef in meal-size portions in the freezer.

  

I'll admit, not the most exciting Quick Fix idea in my repertoire, but the older teen boy loves it.  

Thaws While Cooking
I run the bag of hamburger meat under hot tap water for a few seconds to help loosen it from the bag. Dump it in the pan.  



Add the other ingredients according to HH package. When adding hot water (common in most HH meals), I slowly pour it over the frozen meat to help it thaw quicker.  

While bringing ingredients to a boil, occasionally break up the meat as it thaws.  

Cover.  Simmer.  Stir.  Repeat.
Finish it up, adding anything you can think of to make it taste like fake gourmetwhich if I'm in HH mode I'm probably already on mental overload and devoid of creative thinking skills. Betty Crocker does have some Creative Additions listed on their site:  http://www.bettycrocker.com/Home/Products/Hamburger-Helper/Creative-Additions.

I didn't use HH for a long time, but now we do again. Found a couple of recipes we liked and stuck with those.


We prefer Beef Pasta and Italian Shells. I find the "cheesy" varieties too cheesy.


And You?
Do you use HH? What's your favorite? Do you add anything to it?

2 comments:

Lisa said...

I never use Hamburger Helper. I got away from it years ago. I lean more toward a (just as fast) from scratch approach. For example, Kraft Mac n Cheese with Ro-tel and ground beef is a huge hit in my house as is pasta sauce, elbow mac and ground anything. Healthier than HH and just as quick.

Quick Fix Criss said...

Thanks for the ideas Lisa. I'm considering a future post on different HH alternatives.

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