Homemade Hamburger Helper
1lb hamburger
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup green peppers, chopped (optional)
2.5 – 3.5 cups tomato juice*
1 3/4 cup buttermilk**
2 cups macaroni, uncooked
1tsp sugar
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
Cheese, optional
In large pot, fry meat, onions, and peppers. Add tomato juice, milk, macaroni, sugar, chili powder and salt. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently, until noodles are tender. Stir in cheese if desired. I stirred in some parmesan and cheddar.
Quick-meal tip: I cook large batches of ground beef/onions and keep it in the freezer for quick meals. If you have precooked ground beef like that, all you do is throw all the ingredients together in a large pot, simmer until done! Quick and easy!
Variation: I’m sure the seasonings could be swapped with others to change up this meal a bit if desired. I like the simplicity of this one.
*I used whole wheat noodles and used 3 1/2 cups. With white noodles, you would need less. Start with 2.5 cups and add ore as needed until the noodles are cooked through.
**I used milk with a bit of vinegar added. I’m sure it would work just fine with regular milk.
Anne Jisca's Healthy Pursuits 