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How to make Hamburger Helper faster (and better)

posted 5 years ago by MaximRecoil (4846)
23 replies | jump to latest

Instead of cooking everything in one skillet, cook the pasta in a separate pot of boiling water. For most varieties of HH it will only take 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the type of pasta included in the box. And since you'll no longer need all that extra liquid in the sauce to cook the pasta, you can reduce it down to just 1 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of water. The sauce will be done, and at the perfect thickness, just as soon as it starts boiling, which only takes a minute or two (no need to cover it with a lid). Then drain the pasta, mix it into the sauce/meat mixture and you're done.

If you cook it according to the instructions on the box, it calls for, for most varieties, 11 or 12 minutes, and then when you take the lid off it's still way too watery, so you'll have to boil it down under high heat, constantly stirring, for another 5 minutes or so. And by that time the pasta has been cooking for 16 or 17 minutes, and is way overdone/soggy.

The same idea works for Tuna Helper. 1 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of water is the right amount for all varieties of TH and HH that I've tried.

Also, this is a matter of preference, but 1 pound of ground beef is too much for the amount of sauce and pasta that's included in a box of Hamburger Helper. I use 1/2 pound instead. As for Tuna Helper, it always used to call for 1 can of tuna, but for the past 15 years or so, it's called for 2 cans. 1 can is still the right amount IMO, because tuna has a very strong flavor and 2 cans overpowers it.

[–] chilone (18320) 5 years ago

Or, one could just learn to cook using their own, non-processed, healthy ingredients. ;)

[–] MaximRecoil (4846) 5 years ago

Or, you can do both. Also, there's no such thing as "healthy" or "unhealthy" ingredients. Whether or not something is "healthy" depends entirely upon dosage and frequency of consumption. Even water is unhealthy, fatal even, if over-consumed:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

That's because:

Alle Dinge sind Gift, und nichts ist ohne Gift, allein die Dosis macht dass ein Ding kein Gift ist.

All things are poison, and nothing is without poison, the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison.

—Paracelsus

[–] chilone (18320) 5 years ago

True but in most processed foods, the dosage is of concern. Sodium (as an example) is sky high is a LOT of processed foods and if you eat them often, frequency becomes a concern, too.

[–] MaximRecoil (4846) 5 years ago

"True but in most processed foods, the dosage is of concern. Sodium (as an example) is sky high is a LOT of processed foods"

One salty meal isn't going to harm anyone. But regardless of that, I don't eat any meals that don't have any or enough salt, because they taste terrible. If there's not enough salt I add some. My blood pressure is 110 over 64, which is perfectly normal.

"and if you eat them often, frequency becomes a concern, too."

That applies to literally everything.

[–] chilone (18320) 5 years ago

You're missing (or avoiding) my point which by the way, wasn't directed at you personally. I don't know about you, but the vast preponderance of people who eat processed food, eat it regularly. It's generally not "one salty meal" and salt isn't the only known harmful ingredient that they are abundant in.

[–] MaximRecoil (4846) 5 years ago

"It's generally not "one salty meal""

I replied to your "the dosage is of concern" statement. Dosage is singular. Frequency, on the other hand, refers to X number of dosages in Y amount of time.

"salt isn't the only known harmful ingredient that they are abundant in."

Even though you acknowledged earlier that there's no such thing as "healthy" or "unhealthy" ("harmful" is synonymous with that) ingredients, you've reverted back to classifying them as such.

For the record, every ingredient in food that you'll find in an American grocery store has been FDA-approved, meaning none of the ingredients are known to be harmful in reasonable dosages.

Most people categorize foods in their mind as "healthy" or "unhealthy" based on word-of-mouth, headlines, and TV commercials. In many cases, the actual data behind such notions is dubious and/or only pertains to extreme cases or people with certain medical conditions, and is nearly always inconclusive (given that most of it comes from epidemiological studies, which are inherently inconclusive).

[–] chilone (18320) 5 years ago

For me, it's all about risk management.

[–] robocat893 (16251) 5 years ago

I like Hamburger Helper but my favorite hamburger recipe is hamburger stroganoff. It's easy. One pound of cooked hamburger, I can of condensed mushroom soup and one pint of sour cream. Add a little salt and pepper and pour over noodles. Cheap, tasty and easy to prepare.

[–] MaximRecoil (4846) 5 years ago

I like the Hamburger Helper version of Stroganoff well enough that I've never bothered to make it from a recipe.

"I can of condensed mushroom soup and one pint of sour cream."

I assume you mean Cream of Mushroom soup rather than, e.g., Golden Mushroom soup? Sounds interesting, though I suspect that 16 ounces of sour cream would be too much for my taste.

[–] robocat893 (16251) 5 years ago

Yes, I meant condensed cream of mushroom.

[–] nyctc7 (44104) 5 years ago

I don't know why they call it Hamburger Helper...it does just fine by itself...it's great with real tomato ketchup! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkExpbnjsX8

[–] MaximRecoil (4846) 5 years ago

Awesome movie. There was a standup comedian that used to do the same type of joke, but I can't remember who it was. He said at his house when he was a kid, they didn't have Hamburger Helper, they just had "Helper."

[–] 102000 (6349) 5 years ago

As opposed to faux tomato ketchup? LOL.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 5 years ago

No, as opposed to unreal tomato ketchup.

[–] sslssg (35179) 5 years ago

I rarely make hamburger helper, but I've never had the issue you are talking about with it being too watery.

[–] MaximRecoil (4846) 5 years ago

I've made HH and TH probably thousands of times since the 1980s, following the instructions on the box exactly, and not once has the sauce been thick enough as soon as I took the lid off the skillet after the specified simmering time. The instructions even used to say, "cook to desired consistency" after the specified simmering time. Later it was changed to "sauce will thicken upon standing" (which it never does). Now it says nothing about it at all; it was confusing too many people, probably.

[–] sslssg (35179) 5 years ago

I'd never had hamburger helper until I was married about 20 years ago, and since then I've made it a few times and it's been fine. Perhaps it has to do with your altitude.

[–] MaximRecoil (4846) 5 years ago

The elevation of the town I've lived in for most of my life is only 509 feet above sea level, which is negligible. The only way to get the sauce to a proper thickness in the specified time is to use too high of a heat, which results in a good deal of sticking to the bottom of the skillet, or to use a fairly high heat without a lid and stirring frequently to prevent sticking / burning.

Regardless of that, even if the sauce ends up at the correct thickness as soon as you take the lid off the skillet, the pasta will still be overcooked. The pasta cooks in 6 to 8 minutes and the specified simmering time is always more than that (usually 11 or 12 minutes). There's one variety that I know of that takes a particularly long time to cook, because it uses thick pasta shells ("Cheesy Italian Shells"). It calls for a 24-minute covered simmer time, but the pasta cooks in 15 minutes, so if you follow the instructions, the pasta gets cooked for at least 9 minutes past the point that it's done.

[–] sslssg (35179) 5 years ago

Again different experiences.

[–] [email protected] (6247) 5 years ago

Well, great timing, this will be a "help" to me. No pun intended.
I was grocery shopping this afternoon and the generic HH was on sale so I bought a few boxes. I haven't had it in a while and I thought I'd try it again. My biggest problem with ANY dish that uses pasta is mushiness. I like my pasta al dente. This sounds like a good idea. Thanks

[–] MaximRecoil (4846) 5 years ago

"My biggest problem with ANY dish that uses pasta is mushiness. I like my pasta al dente."

Exactly. Cook the pasta separately and you can guarantee al dente every time. I can't say how long it will take, because I'm not familiar with the generic versions, but I'd start with 5 minutes in boiling water, taste test it, and if it needs more time, test again every minute after that. Like I said earlier, for most varieties of brand-name HH and TH, it ranges from 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the specific variety.

I can't say how much milk and water you should add to the sauce mix either, but I'm guessing that a cup of milk and 1/4 cup of water will work fine, same as with the name-brand stuff. It's not a big deal if you're off on that anyway; if the sauce gets too thick upon boiling, add a little more milk or water. If it's a little too thin, boil it down on high heat, stirring constantly until it's thick enough. After a little trial and error you'll have it dialed in.

[–] Moonglum9 (11340) 5 years ago

Perhaps it has to do with your altitude.

I don't think food can pick up on your emotions or demeanor, so that shouldn't affect how the meal turns out. Now, I've heard that negative feelings can affect how plants grow...oh wait, did you say altitude?

[–] sslssg (35179) 5 years ago

You should watch (or read because the book is better) Like Water for Chocolate and then tell me that food can't pick up on emotions. Hahaha