hamburger helper

(i'm writing this post at almost 2 AM... we had a 4.5 aftershock about 30 minutes ago...shook the bed and scared me a bit...woke K, Hannah woke about 5 minutes before...Ry continued to snore...(sigh) while i'm not "scared", it's still scary to feel your house shake...especially when you know your house wasn't built for an earthquake ridden area... so, i'm posting...gotta get my mind off of the aftershock and hopefully back to sleep soon! :))

i had a hankerin' (hehe) for hamburger helper the other day... but, let's face it, i know it's not the healthiest of meals... while i'm not really worried about K eating something bad for her (she won't eat hamburger at all, so i knew she wouldn't have clogged arteries :)), i want to make foods that are good/healthier for my family... i know hamburger helper is full of processed "stuff," fake cheese, colors, preservatives....ick...
so i searched for a homemade hamburger helper recipe...
this was YUMMY!!! :) i couldn't wait for dinner... :)
so, next time you're going to grab a box of that "quick" meal off the grocery shelf, make this instead...it's cheaper and soooooooooo much better for you!!! :) and, i really think it tasted a lot better, as well!

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Make your "sauce packet" first (read below)
Brown up your ground beef. (I used about 1 lb. of lean beef. :)) Drain any grease/fat.
Then, to your skillet, add:
1 cup of hot water
2 cups milk (i didn't have enough milk, so i used 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of half and half and water (about 1/2 cup of each to make a cup).
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni (i added a little more and used medium shells)
prepare a "sauce packet" including 1 tablespoon corn starch, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar.
place all of these ingredients in your frying pan over high heat until the water/milk boils. Cover and let simmer for about 12 minutes, or until your pasta is done. Stir the mixture occassionally.
At the end, stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded. (i used about 1/2 cup of pizza blend shredded cheese and 5 slices of velveeta cheese.) Cover and let the cheese melt through the hamburger helper. After it's finished cooking, remove from heat, uncover, and let sit for a short time so the "sauce" can thicken a bit...
You can toss a 1/2 cup shredded cheese on top at the end, too, if you want.
YUMMY! :)

The great thing about this is you can "premake" most of this meal... You can bag up some dry pasta and make a "sauce" packet in a little resealable baggie and then store it for later :) Seriously smart... :)