Mennonite Girls Can Cook is a collection of recipes which were posted daily for a period of ten years from 2008 to 2018. We have over 3,000 delicious recipes that we invite you to try. The recipes can be accessed in our recipe file by category or you can use the search engine.

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Hamburger Helper

The other day I was chatting with my daughter and she suggested I post homemade hamburger helper, a dish that her boys really like. I asked her how she made it and she said 'oh you brown hamburger, add some spices, Kraft dinner', what? I chuckled as I realized that is the answer I usually give her. This is a quick meal from stove to table. Here is my version since I never did get the recipe from her.
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 box macaroni and cheese 
  • 1 teaspoon chili seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup tomato juice
  1. Brown ground beef in a skillet. Add spices, salt, pepper, and the tomato juice.
  2. Boil macaroni until tender. Add macaroni and packet of cheese (that comes in the box) to the ground beef mixture and stir well.
  3. Simmer for 15 minutes. adding more tomato juice if the mixture seems too dry.
  4. Serves: 4 to 6
Tell me Brenda..how did I do?

21 comments:

  1. Yum! I make homemade "tuna helper" and the kids love it :)

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  2. Oh my boyfriend will LOVE this! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. are you kidding ~ Hamburger Helper?

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  4. I love a one dish meal and this is just a bit different with the KD added in. . I'll try it. I love the picture too .. the black cast iron pan looks perfect with this dish.

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  5. I am amused by Anonymous's apparent disgust at Hamburger Helper! I am mennonite through and through and I am thrilled you would post a recipe that will make lunch time for my 5 kids that much easier around here! I refrain from the store bought variety due to the high sodium levels so thanks for a much healthier replacement! It may not be "Mennonite" but who cares?? :)

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  6. Yummy...nice and easy and a comfort meal. I like that. My peeps will be happy when I serve this. Kathy (MGCC)

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  7. I LOVE "Mennonite Girls Can Cook"!! I discovered this website about 2 weeks ago, and I check it nearly every day now! Thank you for your labor of love in making your recipes, thoughts, and stories available.

    Please keep up your posts, and God bless each one of you. This "Hamburger Helper" looks delicious!

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  8. It looks good to me! I will have to try this, and share it with my daughter. She uses the boxed kind and this would be healthier for the kids. Thanks for sharing!

    until next time... nel

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  9. Looks like a great meal to me. When my kids were little these meals were the kind that made life easy around the table. They all gobbled it down with no complaints!

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  10. I've made something very similar to this, but instead of the 1 cup of tomato juice I add 1 can tomato soup and 1 can mushroom soup. From there the add-ins are your choice: corn, chopped celery, onion, mushrooms, or green pepper, along with a dash or two of worcestershire sauce and tobasco sauce, or whatever makes your family smile!

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  11. Katie - what is your homemade "tuna helper" recipe? Can you please share? :)

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  12. Why do I read this blog when I'm hungry? :)

    This looks like something my family would love. I'm going to try it this week.

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  13. I saw your links to the Farm Markets on the right and got excited, but they're both in BC! Any chance you know of anything like that in Manitoba? I just moved here and would LOVE to be connected to some sources of fresh fruits/vegetables/meat/dairy.

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  14. Just sit me in a tub...pour this around me and I will eat my way out!!! lol

    Looks good!

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  15. This reminds me of Beef a roni! Im going to give this one a try!

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  16. My mother used to make this all the time for us nine kids. She got the recipe from a friend who had six kids. She called it "mulligan" and I hate it to this day! LOL!

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  17. I make something like this only my kids call it "Jenny's Helper". I have NEVER had anyone not like it, young and old alike!

    Here is the recipe:

    1/2 lb. ground beef
    1/2 Tablespoon dehydrated onions
    salt & pepper
    1 box mac-n-cheese dinner
    8 oz. can tomato sauce

    Method: brown beef with onions and salt & pepper, drain fat. Meanwhile, boil water for macaroni. Cook until desired tenderness and drain. Return to pan. Dump in cooked meat, cheese packet and tomato sauce. Stir well and heat on low, stirring often until hot throughout.
    Serve with corn and a salad.

    This multiplies easily: 1/2 # beef & 8 oz. tomato sauce for every box of mac-n-cheese.

    Note: you DO NOT use the butter and milk called for on the mac-n-cheese box!

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  18. ahh homemade is so much better thanthe boughten kind

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  19. I just made this tonight and it was delicious! To make it gluten free, I just cooked some gf macaroni separately and added it in when there were about 5 min left. When it was done I added shredded cheddar on top. Thanks for sharing your recipes!

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  20. Laura,there are serveral sources for farmers market type vegtables in manitoba.Near winnipeg if you drive down the mcphillips extension towards selkirk you can get 50 pound bags of almost any root vegtable you can imagine,on hwy 9 between selkirk and gimli there is a farmers market.pick up a interlake spector for more sources.

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  21. Made this tonight - was 10x better than store bought hamburger helper. Yummy!

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