Hamburger Helper

One of God's greatest gifts to a bachelor's household is Hamburger Helper. So simple yet so good. Plus, you can stretch one dish into three meals. Perfect for a Catholic Cowboy priest. 

There's many varieties ranging from Stroganoff to Cheesy Hash Browns. I like the old standard Cheeseburger Macaroni. 

The cool thing is that it comes with instructions right on the back of the box. Though I do have the process down by now, I still need the specific measurements of milk and water to get the dish just right. 

The key to a good Hamburger Helper meal is the hamburger. LBCC.LLC grass fattened. 

A cowboy doesn't plan his meal until he's hungry. Therefore, he usually has to thaw things out before he can get started. Defrosting frozen hamburger in a sink full of room temp water is quick and effective. 

Now it's time to get to work. 

Browning is an art. I know you're hungry, but not everything has to be cooked on high. 

Muy Bien. 

Here's some tricks I've learned over the years: Add the milk, then the sauce mix, then pour the water over them both. This allows you to better integrate the sauce mix. 

After you stir those ingredients together, then add the macaroni. This way the sauce mix powder doesn't cling to the mac. 

Bring it to a boil then let it simmer for 10 min or so. 

In that down time I like to have a little cowboy appetizer. 

Knowing when to kill the heat and serve is crucial. Some of this takes trial and error, but I like to shoot for my macaroni to be al dente. 

Bon appetit.

There's been more than one cowboy out there who has kept his belly fueled by Hamburger Helper. I dig it. Any meal that only requires one tool to handle, I'm down with. The beauty of this kind of cooking is now I have two more meals awaiting me that only require reheating. Life is good. Thank God for Hamburger Helper!