Cheesy Mac (Homemade Hamburger Helper)

As I laid on the couch trying to come up with something for dinner the other night all I could do was dream about Hamburger Helper.  It is the quintessential comfort food, and that is just what I needed.  I had 2 pounds of ground beef in the fridge and I really did not want tomato anything.  We have been eating tomatoes for almost 2 months already with the garden winding down.  Surfing recipes on the internet I found a few that looked promising.  This recipe has been made every night for a week getting it to what I think is darn near perfection.  You are free to doctor this up any way you like but this is fantastic exactly the way it is. Just think I made this every day for a week and nobody complained, the kids were pacing the kitchen waiting for more, what is not to love about that?

Cheesy Mac can be made with cashew milk as a substitute for the milk and ground turkey in place of beef.

 

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Cheesy Mac (Homemade Hamburger Helper)
Cheeseburger "Helper" recipe that is ridiculously easy and the kids love it. Make packets of the seasoning and store for later use.
Cheesy Mac
Votes: 2
Rating: 4
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Passive Time 5 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Passive Time 5 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Cheesy Mac
Votes: 2
Rating: 4
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Mix together the cornstarch, paprika, salt, garlic powder and onion powder in a small bowl. Set aside
  2. Bring to a boil 5 quarts of water and add pasta. (Please see note at the bottom of the recipe for full explanation on cooking pasta for this recipe)
  3. Coat the bottom of a dutch oven or a large non-stick skillet with olive oil, brown ground beef; drain well
  4. Add water, milk and dry ingredients to the beef; mix well
  5. Add par-cooked, rinsed pasta to the beef; mix well
  6. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally
  7. Add cheese and stir well. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Check pasta for doneness. If the pasta is not quite done the mix can sit and the pasta will continue to soften even after the stove is turned off.
Recipe Notes

Gluten free pasta takes much longer to cook than regular pasta.  For the gluten free noodles in this recipe you need to par-cook the noodles before adding to the recipe for it to work well.  Since each pasta is different you have to cook the noodles to the point where they have about 5 minutes left.  I used brown rice pasta and I pre-cooked the noodles for 12 minutes before adding to the mixture. Rinse the pasta well to wash away any excess starch before adding them to the mixture.

This Cheesy Mac (Homemade Hamburger Helper) recipe is gluten free.

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