I have said it before and I will say it once again – I just can’t understand why people will pay for Hamburger Helper and similar boxed meals when they can do the same thing with a handful of ingredients and it will taste better, be better for you and if you’re a careful shopper it will save you considerable money too.
Hamburger Helper Beef Stroganoff Clone Recipe
Yield: 3 servings
INGREDIENTS
2 cups of dry pasta (egg noodles, shells, rotini, whatever you have)
1 pound ground beef
1/3 medium onion, diced finely
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
salt & pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Brown ground beef and onion. Drain.
3. Add pasta, ground beef and remaining ingredients to a saucepan and stir well to blend and coat everything. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens to desired consistency. Add water if needed.
HINT: Use the low fat or 98% fat free soup. You will never know the difference!
I think the important thing to remember with all of your great recipes is not to be afraid to try. You don’t need boxed *anything* if you’re willing to be a little adventurous.
Don’t get me wrong – the clone recipes are great. But why limit Big Mac sauce to a Big Mac? How about this Hamburger Helper recipe with grilled chicken or ground turkey? Go for it, with whatever you have in the house – you may be surprised with what you find.
This is a good one, my husband loves hamburger helper. I will add it to my list of dishes. thanks
Steve: That’s a great point and one I hope a lot of people do realize. In creating these clone recipes I really just hope to help break the perceived addiction to so-called convenience foods so that people are more comfortable cooking from scratch. Then they can start to experiment and make each recipe their own. I’ve already had several readers doing that with some of the recipes on the site and hope to see a lot more of it in the future.
Donna: Let us know how your husband likes this one! It’s a favorite of mine.
I have never understood the “box” dinner concept. I have always made my own helper for ground beef, chicken or tuna, sloppy joes and dont even bring a jar of spagetti sauce to my house. It all started when I read a can of chicken broth and saw corn syrup and like the number 3 ingredient. Not only do I save money, but I know what my loved ones are eating.