Who doesn’t love hamburger helper? It is the ultimate childhood-memory food!
We grownups at this house still love it!
Last week, on one of my favorite cooking blogs I found a recipe for a simple, homemade version. The perks of the homemade version?
- Cheaper
- Dare I say…tastier?
- The self-satisfied feeling of saying, “I made this myself.”
- You probably already have all the ingredients in your kitchen or pantry.
Kristin at Iowa Girl Eats is one of my favorite food bloggers. My friend Lucy tipped me off to this blog last year. I’ve been reading ever since.
A few months ago Kristin had the most adorable little son named Lincoln, she has been doing a month-by-month series of his growth called My Mommy Mind. I’ve really enjoyed it. The kid has adorable eyes!
Kristin is from the midwest and her food is great! Here is her photo of the hamburger helper & a link to her detailed, photo-by-photo recipe.
This recipe is one of the most popular to date on her website. So…you get the idea…it is good!
Hamburger, despite a somewhat bad reputation, is actually very healthy. A 3-ounce serving of lean beef has just 150 calories. Within those calories, your body is getting a lot of nutritional value — half of your daily value for protein and 9 other essential nutrients, too! Read more about beef’s nutrients here.
From her blog to our table
Since we were having a childhood-themed entrée…I went ahead with some of my favorite childhood sides: sweet corn & fruit.
I learned how to “make” this fruit from my Aunt Jill. (Tomorrow is her birthday by the way!) She usually used fresh strawberries and bananas.
Once this meal was on the table, I could have sworn it was time for me to be 10 again — sitting down to the table at Aunt Jill’s with all of my cousins for supper.
I even put the fruit in the exact same little, glass bowls that Aunt Jill had at those childhood meals! Weird. I received mine as a wedding gift. It reminds me of their house every time I use them!
Aunt Jill’s Fruit Directions: Cut fruit, shake a little sugar on top, put in refrigerator, let the sugar draw the water out while the other food cooks. By the time you are ready to eat, the sugar and water has turned into a fresh, sweet, natural syrup.
*Or, if strawberries are out of season & not so yummy…buy large bags of frozen, pre-cut fruit at Sam’s Club. That’s what I did 🙂
It is so tasty. So simple.
I should mention that John had a great kid-like way of eating this meal…he mixed the corn right into the hamburger helper! And, he topped that with a little parmesan cheese. Two things I would have never thought off!
He’s definitely a kid at heart!
Naturally, our kitchen was a disaster zone…even after this simple meal. I’m not a tidy cook.
I usually don’t worry too much about things like preservatives, but this meal is totally preservative free & gives you all those feel good vibes! The hamburger provides a good source of 10 essential nutrients, the fruit is fresh, and we even froze the sweet corn ourselves this summer.
Who said eating like a kid wasn’t healthy?
Several years ago when my son was in college he called home all excited, before cell phones! He told me he had invented a new meal. He had taken a package of hamburger from home and mixed it with a box of mac’n cheese. I had to gently burst his bubble by saying some people ate like that often. That is was called, “Hamberger Helper.” It is still a fun memory!