Was anyone else raised eating Hamburger Helper? That was a certain staple around our house growing up and even in my home in the earlier years of our marriage. It’s yummy, easy, and unfortunately completely processed. Once we took our journey towards clean eating, that meant no more Hamburger Helper for us! I’ve tried a couple homemade versions, and they’ve luckily been really delicious!
This recipe doesn’t at all claim to be like Hamburger Helper, but it really reminded me of it, and I wasn’t sad about it. At all. It was actually FAR more flavorful and delicious, and a BIG WIN for our family! The Six Sisters always come through with family-friendly, yummy recipes.
They call this a soup, but it was much thicker and heartier than what I typically refer to as a soup. My husband and I ate it out of a bowl, but I actually served it to my boys on plates, and it worked out just fine!
It calls for macaroni noodles (I recommend always using 100% whole wheat pasta when you can!), but I used the whole wheat shells I had on hand, and of course, it was a perfect substitution.
We were in a hurry, so I didn’t serve it with anything at all. It makes a complete meal on its own. It would be great with anything green: salad, broccoli, green beans…and maybe some sort of garlic bread!
I’m thinking that I’ll make this the next time I need to take a meal somewhere or to someone. It could transfer easily out of a deep skillet into a casserole dish and easily be heated in the oven!
Bronson’s thinking, “Mommy, can you stop taking pictures of the food now so we can eat it?!” 😉
VERDICT:
Me: I love that I made this with no prep-work at all. These are ingredients I almost always have on hand, and it was super quick and easy. Most importantly – it was DELISH! I had at least 2 helpings at dinner, and you know I love me some leftovers.
Hubs: He specifically said it smelled great while I was cooking, and then commented on how good it tasted during dinner!
11 & 7-Year-Olds: They ate it up! They liked it for sure.
2-Year-Old: Happy dance!! He loved this! It’s SO not easy for me to find things he’ll eat well, but pasta is the key to his heart. I loved knowing this was chock-full of tomatoes. He mainly picked out the shells to eat and left the ground beef behind, but I’m more than okay with that!
Leftovers: We had a small amount of leftovers, which were excellent for lunch the next day. This would be a perfect dish to freeze, we just didn’t have enough left over to do that. Next time, I’ll double the recipe! 🙂
Crissy,
Sounds like the perfect meal! Served with garlic bread makes it even better! Thank you for your ideas! I enjoy your blog so much!
M
Thank you so much, Michelle! I appreciate your feedback more than you know! <3