Faux Hamburger Helper Mix

I grew up a bit of a food snob. We turned out noses down at ground beef dishes like sloppy joes and shepherd's pie. When it came to processed and semi-processed food- forget it! Which is why until last night I had never eaten anything resembling hamburger helper in my entire life.

Mixing it up has made me open to new things and I'm glad it has. Unless it's got eggs, I'm determined to try anything I can think of a mix for. I noticed some tempting looking boxes of hamburger helper on sale in the grocery store last week, but they all had MSG, which doesn't sit well with me. So....

Faux Hamburger Helper Mix (single use)

1/4 cup powdered milk
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
pinch basil
pinch oregano
pinch celery seed
pinch cayenne

What else you'll need

1 pound ground beef
375 grams (about 12 ounces) of uncooked pasta noodles
6 cups water

Brown the beef until fully cooked. Combine mix with 1 cup of the water and stir until smooth and pour into pot with beef, then add other water and noodles. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until noodles are fully tender and sauce is thick.

I've never eaten the 'real stuff' to compare it to, but my husband said and he says it's similar only better- like comparing fresh baked Mac and Cheese to Kraft Dinner. Whatever the case, I liked it quite a bit and my 2 year old daughter ate 3 plates of it. I am no longer a hamburger helper snob!