Hamburger Helper
This easy hamburger helper recipe has ground beef, macaroni, and a
flavorful cheesy cheddar sauce! it's total comfort food for the homies,
inexpensive and ready in about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
-
Ground beef - I like to use extra lean ground beef, at
least 90%. 1 Pound extra lean ground beef.
-
Onion - Vidalia (sweet) onions. 1/2 medium onion
chopped
-
Tomato paste - It's an easy, economical way to get
concentrated tomato flavor. 2 tablespoons tomato paste.
-
Garlic powder and chili powder - Simple seasoning blend
to infuse savory flavors. 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon of
chili powder.
-
ELbow macaroni - the class pasta shape or you can be
spicy and do shelled. 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni.
-
Beef broth - For a deeper, richer flavor to the sauce.
3 cups beef broth.
-
Sharp cheddar cheese - Cheese Just make the dish creamy
enough if not add more cheese! 2 cups freshly grated cheddar cheese.
- Salt & pepper to taste.
-
Add the beef and onions to a soup pot. Cook over medium-high heat until
the beef has browned (about 7-10 minutes), breaking the meat up with
your spoon as you go along. If there's a lot of excess fat, spoon most
of it out.
- Stir in the tomato paste, garlic powder, and chili powder.
-
Add in the beef broth and increase the heat to high. Once it starts
boiling, add in the macaroni.
-
Reduce the heat so it's not furiously boiling (a rapid simmer is good).
I ended up cooking mine over medium heat. Let it cook uncovered until
the pasta is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed (about
13-15 minutes). I stir it every couple of minutes.
-
While it's cooking, grate the cheese (this saves prep time at the start
of the recipe).
-
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cheese. Season with salt &
pepper as needed. I let it sit for a couple minutes prior to serving
(soaks up the sauce and flavors more), but you can serve it right away.
