Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl who moved to Minneapolis after college to whoop it up for a few years before settling down into adulthood, or whatever it is they call being a mid-upper twenty something.
The boy and the girl were dating, but lived in separate apartments. The girl liked to have the boy over for dinner as often as she could because she liked the boy a lot, but also because she knew what the boy would eat every night if left to his own devices.
See, while the girl liked to cook meals chock full of fresh veggies and protein (for the most part,) the boy had a weakness for boxed dinners that called for a pound of hamburger to “help” them along.
The meals were quick, cheap, and painless to prepare, but loaded with salt and weird ingredients.
“Disodium guanylate?” The girl once asked the boy, after looking at the ingredient list.
“I think that just means ‘extra delicious’.” The boy replied.
The boy and the girl ended up getting married and moving back to Iowa a few years later, and while they’ve been eating well ever since, he occasionally likes to think of the boxed dinners from his bachelor days and drool a little.
More in love with the boy than ever, the girl offered to whip up a homemade version of his favorite “flavor”, Cheeseburger Macaroni.
And the boy freaking LOVED IT. And guess what? The girl did too!
Ok. The jig is up. The boy is Ben, and the girl is me. ;) The rest of the story is true, however, including the part where Ben inhaled his bowl of Cheeseburger Macaroni. I literally gave him a bowl, went to snap a few pictures, and it was gone by the time I got back. Thanks for waiting!
The beauty of this meal is that it is inexpensive – I had all the ingredients on hand except for the hamburger to “help” bring the meal together – it’s made in one pot, so clean up is basically nil, and it’s ready in 20 minutes. 20 minutes!
Start by browning, and draining, one pound of ground beef.
Next, sprinkle in a rainbow of yummy seasonings and thickeners, including paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and cornstarch.
Pour in water, skim milk,
and any short pasta – regular or gluten-free. I wanted to use elbow macaroni, but only had mini penne on hand. Still worked fine!
Stir everything together, pop a lid on top, and simmer the mixture until the pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes.
Finally, stir in a wee bit of sharp cheddar cheese, and it’s done!
Ultra cozy, ultra easy, and, most importantly, disodium guanylate free!
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Homemade Cheeseburger Helper
Description
Homemade Cheeseburger Helper is the healthier, homemade version of boxed Hamburger Helper. This gluten-free dinner recipe is incredibly delicious!
Ingredients
- 1lb lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 cups skim milk
- 1-1/2 cups dry gluten-free or regular elbow macaroni (or other small pasta)
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Directions
- Brown ground beef in a large skillet then drain and return to the skillet. Add cornstarch, seasonings, hot water, skim milk and pasta then stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, place a lid on top, then simmer until pasta is al dente, stirring a few times.
- Turn off the heat then add cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Let stand for 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened then serve.
Notes
From Food.com
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
This meal is the ultimate in comfort food, shockingly easy to prepare, and so dang good. SO good! Enjoy!
April Fiet 11.12.2013
We tried this tonight, and it is spot on! My husband LOVED it and proclaimed it is the closest homemade hamburger helper he’s ever had. And that’s saying a lot. He pretty much lived on hamburger helper in his bachelor years. :)
30 Days of THRIVE – Easy Cheesy Cheeseburger Macaroni 07.16.2013
[…] found this recipe on Iowa Girl Eats while looking up “Helper Recipes” that could easily become Meal in Jar […]
Jo 06.17.2013
I have made this twice. LOVE it! Thank you so much for putting a recipe out there that I can make knowing I’m not eating total crap. Like most 80s and 90s kids, my fiancé and I grew up eating Hamburger Helper. Besides not wanting to eat all that nasty stuff that they add to it, I cannot have MSG without consequences. My fiancé loves this…says it’s way heartier. To add a little more flavor I like to add bbq sauce at the end and let it simmer until it’s thick. We love that.
Beth 06.02.2013
Wow! I just found this recipe via Pinterest and boy am I happy about it! This looks like the real deal! We love hamburger helper on occasion but it pains me to buy the boxes each time when (1) hello, chemicals and (2) I know I can make it healthier! I can’t wait to cook up your version this week! Thanks so much!! :)
Steph 04.16.2013
Made this tonight and the whole family loved it. Even 3 picky little girls gobbled it up.
It really taste just like hamburger helper, which I ate way too much of through my early 20s. Thanks so much for the recipe!
The Elusive 30 Minute Meal 03.20.2013
[…] Hamburger Mac ‘n’ Cheese – this is just an upscaled version of Hamburger Helper. You brown meat, add spices, milk and pasta and top with cheese. Usually when we do this, we cook up some crack broccoli in the oven. Since the main dish is so simple, I can quickly prep the broccoli and get it in. […]
LinesGoingSouth 02.18.2013
Thanks!! Just found this blagh and I love it!! I will be trying the homemade Chicken fried rice tonight
Lauren 02.04.2013
I made this tonight and wanted to post this review for future readers. Make this! It is a great alternative to the boxed version in the store. You can’t tell the difference and this recipe has 4 ingredients (not including water and spices) verses 30 from the box. What’s better? It took me under 30 min to make!
Nicole 01.29.2013
Just made this and added some chopped spinach to it – delicious! Thanks so much for an easy, yummy dinner my kiddos will eat!
Catherine 01.09.2013
I want to make this tonight but only have rigatoni…is that type of pasta too big for this recipe? Thanks so much for all of the great recipes! Love your granola bars.
Iowa Girl Eats 01.09.2013
That should be fine! :)
2012 in Review: Cooking and Recipes 12.27.2012
[…] have achieved the level of “New Family Favorite:” We absolutely LOVE Iowa Girl’s Homemade Hamburger Helper and Chicken Gumbo (a fair few other of her recipes too) and Skinnytaste’s Loaded Potato Soup […]
Rene 12.19.2012
I have tried a few different recipes I found on Pinterest for “homemade Hamburger helper” Yours is so far the BEST! Only thing I did differently was used a 3/4 cup of heavy cream in place of 1 cup of milk (yea I know it’s not quite as healthy as skim but hubby loves the creaminess in the helper) Anyways it was delicious. Thanks for sharing it! Now being “pinned” to my tried it board!
Chocolate Chip Cookies and Weight Loss… Not gonna happen! | 07.08.2012
[…] I’ve been cooking (and baking cookies) and watching tv. I made Iowa Girl Eats’ Cheeseburger Macaroni tonight and it was AWESOME! Love her […]
Laci 05.20.2012
Thank you so much for this recipe! My fiance loooooves hamburger helper, but I’ve been reluctant to make it any longer because I think powdered cheese is a disgusting idea. He asked me to make some tonight, and I decided to embark on re-creating it from scratch. Your recipe saved me, and it was so delicious! No more boxes for us :)
homemade cheeseburger macaroni - - Network Panda – cPanel Web hosting, PHP, MySQL, unlimited disk space and bandwidth 04.18.2012
[…] https://iowagirleats.com/2012/01/26/bachelor-food-redo/ View more posts in: […]
Tracy 04.17.2012
Mmmmm. Made this for dinner tonight and I loved it! More importantly – my one year old twins loved it! Mmmm.
(Also made the kale chips…. I thought they were OK. Babies put one leaf in their mouths and spit it right out. Go figure. They also don’t eat green beans, peas, broccoli or any other form of green vegetables, though.)
Kara 04.04.2012
Thank you! I realized yesterday I had all the ingredients for this on hand. Everyone loved it, especially the kids. The 2 year old didn’t throw a single bit, which is the highest compliment she can give.
Hannah 03.28.2012
This was pretty spot on! My family loved it.
GreenRanchMom 02.21.2012
Just saw this & was so excited, because re-creating those “helpers” was exactly how I started my real food journey! I recreated every helper & rice packet there was before I felt comfortable with real food cooking from scratch!
I know what we’re having for supper tonight!
Menu Plan Monday 2/13/12 « the cooking nurse 02.13.2012
[…] Wednesday: Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni […]