The whole point of Hamburger Helper is to make a quick and easy family meal, typically served on weekdays by parents that don't have much time to cook dinner after getting home from work in the afternoon.
Many blue collar families didn't have any work to go to in the '70s. My Mom was a homemaker. My Dad was a carpenter, and because the housing industry took a dive in the '70s, he was out of steady work from the mid '70s until things started to recover in the early '80s (and then he went to work building multi-million dollar yachts). He had also done some logging and lumber mill work, but those industries also slowed because of the housing industry situation. So we were dirt poor, and Hamburger Helper was cheap so we ate it quite a bit. I remember that very particular taste well. I never liked it, but was happy to have something to eat at least. To me it is poverty food.
@@jackgilchrist I liked it. It was better than my mother‘s cooking. lol. Also, yeah, my dad was low ranking military in the 80s and we didn’t have a lot of money either so I get it.
You should serve a salad or green vegetable and garlic bread with it. My mom made this often. We were very poor growing up, so it was cheap and filling.
All of us 70s kids were raised on Hamburger Helper. The economy was bad. We were in a recession and gas shortages were very real. That meant sitting in line for hours to get a tank of gas. What's more, this was the first generation where both parents usually worked, so they needed something simple and very filling. Preferably a meal that could be ready in 20 minutes and would be child friendly. If it didn't quite fill you up, bread and margarine filled in the gaps. Nicola I may steal your recipe and use it. It looks delicious. But to be fair to Andrew, I'd eat the other one too. Especially if you topped it with half a cup of good shredded cheddar cheese. Great video guys! You're so much fun to watch! LOL beef tea is a very old British thing. They used to give it to hospital patients as far back as Florence Nightingale.
@TwoBritsTry my parents also would hide vegetables in the hamburger helper to make a one pan meal. Or we would have a garden vegetable or a side salad using iceberg lettuce.
I came to say the same thing. I grew up dirt poor in a family of 6. We raised and butchered our own beef, so ground beef was easy to come by. Hamburger Helper, a side of veggies from our garden, and a loaf of french bread with butter was an economical way to feed the family. Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, etc were at least once a week growing up!
A skillet is a large frying pan, the pot works fine of course. We also call ground beef hamburger sometimes. I grew up eating hamburger helper there are tons of different kinds and there is also chicken helper in addition to tuna. I think probably the homemade one tastes much better although it defeats the purpose of hamburger helper, which was made for people who are busy to make a hot fairly cheap dinner in less than 20 minutes for themselves or family after coming home from work exhausted or something. I think it would be cool if you tried the stroganoff flavor of hamburger helper and then made hamburger stroganoff from scratch and compare. I think you have really fun personalities together 😊
I agree the beef stroganoff flavor is amazing but my absolute favorite is potatoes stroganoff. Potatoes stroganoff substitutes scalloped potatoes instead of pasta everything else is the same as the regular stroganoff ❤️
@@jasonwhoever5528 That sounds really good actually! I will have to try that. When I was a kid sometimes we had it over rice, which most think is weird. I like it that way but prefer egg noodles, who knows though potatoes could be a new twist for me.
@DreemCatching the potatoes stroganoff is sometimes hard for me to find at Walmart but Amazon has it all the time. ❤️ I will eat the regular beef stroganoff flavor but I just prefer the potatoes over the pasta . Also I don't follow the directions on the box I use only milk I don't add any water. Whatever the measurements are for the water I substitute with milk. 😁
Boxed hamburger helper favorites: Beefy Pasta, Stroganoff and Cheeseburger Mac Tuna Helper Favorite: Tuna Tetrazzini Always season your meat. I even add a few seasonings to some of the boxed ones while cooking as well. I also often add mushrooms or a veg to certain ones.
The homemade one is more like creamy goulash. Of course it will beat anything that comes out of a box, but the thing about the helper is, it's just a base. You can add onions and tomatoes, or other veg, and additional spices, to improve it, if you want to.
You can, indeed, level up Hamburger Helper substantially with pretty simple additions. For the Italian style flavors, add mushrooms, black olives, and Italian seasoned canned tomatoes. For Mexican styled varieties, add black olives, jalapenos, and chili spiced canned tomatoes. Be sure to reduce the water to compensate for the tomato juice. Mozzarella, cheddar, Monterey jack, or Parmesan cheese on top. Still quick and easy, but tastier.😊
I laughed when y'all said it being "helper" before Nicola forgot to put the beef in her recipe. Growing up poor, we would sometimes not have ground beef but have a box of Hamburger Helper in the kitchen and my mom would make it and say we were having Helper for dinner, lol
When I make boxxed beef Stoganoff Hamburger Helper, I use a half pound of meat (beef) and a half pound of Mushrooms, diced onion and deglaze the pan with a little white wine after browning meat. I alway doctor up my processed foods, lol.
in the US for ground beef you have several levels based on the fat to lean ratio (sirloin, round, chuck, hamburger) so yes Hamburger helper is named for use with higher fat content ground beef and it is called hamburger because it is what you would use for the most basic hamburger the difference between the homemade and the store bought is price the store bought box of Hamburger Helper costs about $1-2 while the homemade costs about $8-9
No. Sirloin, round and chuck are parts of the critter. Whether 73/75/80/85/90/93/96% lean it comes from any part of the cow, unless a specific cut (eg 90% sirloin - the % being the lean, from that cut) is mentioned.
@@mrhippo2874 i am aware before you ask i worked as butcher for 2 years during high school for ground beef sirloin is 90+% lean, no added fat -from sirloin round is 85 - 90% lean, no added fat -from round chuck is 80 - 85% lean, no added fat -from chuck ground beef is 70+% lean, no added fat -made the same way as hamburger hamburger is 70+% can contain added fat -made from off cuts of butchered beef (excluding innards) -in theory, there could be pieces of sirloin, chuck, ribs, or even filet mignon this is regulated by law in the US the reason is because the steak by the same name is always the same as above even tho they are large cuts of the cow you really do not want to eat beef with more then 93% lean it becomes tough and leathery anyway you cook it
Nicola is such a natural in front of the camera! I love her name too! Great video! I haven't had hamburger helper for years, but now I want to make some tomorrow for nostalgic reasons!💗 Thanks for the video!
You nailed it!! Haven't had this in years. And back when watching network television was still a thing, you would see endless advertisements for hamburger helper. They even had a very popular jingle that was part of the ad. And as per usual, you have rekindled this old memory and I will be picking up a box of HH on my next trip to the grocery store. lol.. The final product from both of you look great. I think I will get my wife to help me prepare it and we can pretend that we too have a cooking channel.... maybe not! lol.... But it sure is fun watching you two do it. You guys are a riot!! Rich and Mila ♥
Sometimes people in the US call ground beef, hamburger. Technically, there is a difference, based on federal regulations that define ground beef as coming from one cow and hamburger as coming from multiple cows and blended together.
Actually, what is labeled "hamburger" can have extra fat added to it but "ground beef" cannot. It has nothing to do with the meat coming from one or multiple cows.
We can also buy different ratios of fat to lean. I believe 70/30 is hamburger. It is the least expensive. Hamburger Helper is intended for fast and inexpensive meals requiring very little in the way of fresh ingredients.
@@TwoBritsTry don't listen to that BS. Hamburger and ground beef are pretty much interchangeable. It's just grounded up beef that's used mainly and hamburgers.
3 things i do when making Hamburger Helper: 1- season the meat when you’re cooking it, even a little Worcestershire Sauce too 2- don’t add the water, just the milk 3- when it’s almost done, throw a few chunks of butter in there
... They separated the "add tuna" suggestion into a separate Tuna Helper now? 😂 I remember eating "hamburger helper" mac and cheese or cheesy pasta, and it has "suggestion" of adding Tuna instead for different taste/flare when I was young. The whole family didn't like the Tuna version except me 😂.
As Mrpenguinlife said it was meant as a quick easy meal. Also in the US very cheap. Aldi has a version that cost less then $2 plus maybe $3.50 for a pound of ground beef. So for about $6 a family of four could eat.
Ground beef used to be called by which cut was used - ground round, ground sirloin, etc. Ground hamburger was a combination of scraps the butcher had usually ending up with a higher fat content but could be from filet, rib, Chuck, etc. It was also the least expensive version available, hence Hamburger Helper.
Your blue Dutch Oven, is cast iron and a great vessel to cook many different recipes in. All the seasoning needed is already in the Hamburger helper. The nice thing about hamburger helper is, you can add a veggie while cooking it.
Fantastic! You two are so much fun! And it looks as if you're thoroughly enjoying learning how to cook North American recipes. I'm so pleased to see how much you're embracing our culture. Your adventures, whether traveling, or trying recipes, are so nice to watch. Thank you!
A lot of people like to joke about when they come from humble beginnings. WE USED TO BE SO POOR THAT ALL WE COULD AFFORD TO EAT WAS THE HELPER IN HAMBURGER HELPER. I always make a double batch which requires 2 lb of ground beef. Two boxes add potato stroganoff. Half a gallon of milk. It cost me about $28 😁😀😁😀 I don't care how I still love it❤
Hamburger Helper was a treat in our house. (We were very poor). I still like it once in a while. For a different twist, make it with pre-made frozen meatballs. The best meatloaf I ever made was HH meatloaf. I can't find it in stores any more.
@russellrofe4849 I still love it. I have difficulty finding my favorite hamburger helper at Walmart sometimes but I've always had good luck getting it on Amazon. ❤️
I grew up eating Hamburger Helper as a kid and I loved every single one of them including the tuna helper. My personal favorite Hamburger Helper is the Beef Noodle/Beef Pasta and Beef Stroganoff. When it comes to cooking it from the box, I will add my own spices (along with the seasoning packet) and I like to add peas and mushrooms to mine (if I'm cooking Beef Noodle and Beef Stroganoff) to mine...it gives it an extra depth of flavor. Love the videos as always.
Hamburger Helper was a staple growing up for a quick and inexpensive dinner. My favorites used to be the Beef Stroganoff and the Cheeseburger but they changed the recipes several years ago so they aren't as flavorful as they used to be. Still makes a good dinner but not a go-to anymore. The taco one is tasty but I really don't buy them anymore. Homemade is always best but when you're in a rush as you said, the box works.
@@tinahairston6383 good afternoon ma'am. I hope you're well! I recognized you right away from Mr. H. Channel. A good grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup! Doesn't get much better than that ❤️
Hamburger helper was a staple for me as a kid. Depending on the flavor, other things like onions, peppers, etc. were added when we had the extra money, which makes it so much better, nit that it isn't fine on its own.
It's amazing how a simple dish like Hamburger Helper can bring back such nostalgic memories! We can see that adding extra ingredients would definitely take it to the next level.
Bookmarked the recipe! I hope to make it tomorrow. I grew up on the boxed Hamburger Helper. Dad worked 10 hour days, Mom was a full time student and part time piano teacher, so quick and easy was sometimes necessary.
@@TwoBritsTry If I were still 10, I would go for the boxed version, but I've grown accustomed to more complicated tastes, so these days, I'd prefer the homemade, even though the boxed is so much easier. (and I'm going to triple double the garlic, because I can)
My fave is the Stroganoff Hamburger helper. When I make it, I season the beef while it's cooking with onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Then when I get to the boiling stage I stir in a tin of sliced mushrooms. Serve it with a little dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of paprika. So good.
As a single mom of 3 teens who had to be in 4 different sports, dancing, after-school activities - THANK GOD for Hamburger Helper!!! We didn't have much time after school to eat and this was quick. (We just never liked Tuna Helper🤮 . My kids are now in their late 20s, living the busy life we did, and they still don't like tuna. (I would go back to those busy days again, but now it's their turn with my grandchildren. ❤️❤️❤️❤️)
I always add more seasoning to my hamburger helper but, I am from south Louisiana ,which means I add more seasoning to everything I cook.If you want to do hamburger helper for the convenience add garlic powder onion,powder ,salt, pepper ,and anything else you like including shredded cheese , Italian seasoning paprika. Make it your own.
This video was great. My kids are all grown now, but when I was a single mom of three teenagers, I would make 4-5 boxes of hamburger helper for the 4 of us - homework had to be done, then off to wresting practice, football & basketball practice, dancing lessons, and grad school for Mom all at the same time! When I actually had the time to make it 'outside of the box' the kids hated it. 🤪 My new amazing husband and I still eat it today, although the kids are grown and we have an empty nest, it's something quick to make after a long day at work. In fact, this is dinner tomorrow!
I haven't eaten Hamburger helper since they invented Velveeta cheesy skillets. It's kinda the same but with a big pack of cheese sauce in each box. My favs is If I'm eating hamburger I get ultimate cheeseburger or whatever it's called If I'm wanting chicken I get the chicken bacon ranch Its incredible and the leftovers reheated taste even better sometimes. Hamburger is just like you do any other type but chicken we get boneless chicken breast 1pound per box and I dice them into bite size chunks. Then just cook it the same as hamburger type
@TwoBritsTry It was good although, I will not put as much onion in next time and add some cayenne pepper to make it spicy. As far as the boxed dinners go, Velveeta makes a better one than hamburger helper.
how do people not know what hamburger helper is? its what kept my family fed for 38 years aka a family of 6. because its $1 or less. you find it in the dollar store with the spam an ramen. I have eaten every last flavor of hamburger helper their is an tuna is the fastest an easiest. its not my favorite but gets the job done. I recommend if you can still find it the skillet version. so hearty. then the basic one i liked was the Italian basial one. flavorful.
One of the few convenience foods dad would tolerate, so we had this a lot in the 70s when mom still worked. My one big tip is to boil the pasta for a few minutes in the amount of water the box calls for to make sure it is cooked well and then add the other things like milk and flavor packet. We did a lot of experimenting; putting canned peas in stroganoff or cheeseburger, pinto beans in the taco one or even making a pseudo-lasagna with cottage cheese by layering it with the lasagna helper and topping it with parmesan.
We use the broth to add to a soup base, Stir in the pasta and stir. You have a pasta mix. STIR so it doesn't burn Taste before adding extra ingredients It is nice to make the fast dish if you have to come home late
Growing up, my mom would make her homemade versions of hamburger helper. After, i was living on my own, i used the pre-packaged box versions and loved it. My favorites were the original and tuna tetrazini boxes
It's amazing how food memories shape our tastes! Homemade versions always have a special place in our hearts, but nothing beats the convenience of the boxed versions. Thanks for watching
Oh man, why dont we have hamburger helper in the uk? Right at the risk of sounding critical,I thought Andrews dish looked the best visually but Nicola's dish looked of a richer consistency! Mmmmm! Id scoff them both!♥️ Loving the new channel, you guys could well be the Fanny & Johnnie Craddock of the you tube world! Wow!🌍👍👏👏♥️🏴
I use hamburger helper as a starter but then add in Other things like Tomatoes , sautéed onions, garlic, and plenty of spices. I also sometimes add in a little bit of beef stock to enhance the flavoring.. on the stroganoff version I had sour cream and sautéed mushrooms. There’s also a taco version out there. They had extra cheese, tomatoes, onions, and more taco seasoning it crushed corn chips to give it that quality flavor lasagna flavor I add in stewed, tomatoes, and peppers and for an occasionally special treat some pepperoni. from a large family, we had to make art in a Dutch oven because there were too many of us to do one box and have to figure out how to put it way to put the vegetables in by the way, the tuna, helper and chicken helpers, can you usually be interchangeable with chicken or tuna? You can also use ground turkey for any of the hamburger helpers and if you need to go vegetarian, you can use vegetarian crumbles.
I grew up on eating the box Hamburger Helper. I still eat it to this day. I like to put Hamburger Helper on top w a big hunk of warm, butter cornbread. Perfect comfort food.
Hamburger Helper is my shiznit. I haven't eaten red meat since '96 so I always use ground 🦃 ( there really isn't that big of a difference). One of the things I love abt HH is all the ways u can jazz it up. Long live Hamburger Helper !❤❤❤❤
That sounds like something a person I know would do. She made some pies for a holiday. She used frozen pie crust that’s already in the pan which has a wax paper circle between the two pans to keep the top pan from sticking to the crust of the bottom pan. This person did not remove the wax paper circle (which has writing on it by the way) and poured her pie filling into the pie crust with the wax paper circle and baked it. The paper partially floated to the top. Fortunately, the other pie crust did not have the wax paper circle, and that was the one she served her family on the holiday and the other one with the paper, she removed the paper and had that pie for the next day for the family members that stayed overnight
I have always used hamburger helper as a starting point. Always had a house full of kids, only 3 were mine, and a double batch of HH was the go to meal. Adding extra cheese, meat, noodles, even veggies like corn, peas and broccoli. What ever I had to make it stretch farther is what I used. And always extra seasonings and sauces. Just quick and easy. All 3 of my kids, and some of the neighborhood kids, could all make HH by the time they were 10. My 2 oldest would regularly have dinner going before I got home. And as adults, are all great cook’s. My oldest son has gotten into canning, vegetables, soups, and jelly, jam’s and preserves. My daughter is into baking, also my youngest is learning the arts of the pit master.
It's amazing to hear how you turned Hamburger Helper into a family affair! Sounds like you created some great cooks in the process! Thanks for watching!😊
Flavors of Hamburger Helper: Cheesy Mac, Chili Mac, Stroganoff, Lasagne, Etc. Tuna Helper: Creamy Tuna, Cheesy Tuna, Etc. I believe there's at least one Hamburger Helper that comes with thinly sliced potatoes. When my kids were young we ate a lot of Hamburger & Tuna Helper. They were pretty tasty.
Thanks for sharing the different flavors! It's interesting to see how versatile Hamburger Helper can be. We'll have to do a taste-off! Do you have a favorite?
The homemade one looks delicious! I WILL try that someday. But being an American, I have a looooong history with Hamburger Helper. I know what the Cheeseburger Macaroni tastes like and really like it as easy comfort food. It's really good!
These are fun videos! I keep a box of hamburger helper (stroganoff) and tuna helper (cheddar broccoli) in the back of the pantry in case I have no time and need to fill tummies quickly- nothing wrong with an emergency quick meal option. My tuna casserole is about the same effort as Nicola's option and also uses cavatappi, but it bakes in the oven 20 extra minutes with a breadcrumb topping. Look at that lovely glass liquid measuring cup.
We had the stroganoff hamburger helper just this last week after not having it for quite a while. I usually do my own homemade hamburger helper version . But, I’m going through a I don’t feel like cooking phase lol. I could tell when it got done cooking though it smelled kind of bland so I just added lots of garlic powder, onion powder, and some nutmeg, and it wasn’t too bad! Another fun video!
You can always doctor up the box stuff, fresh onion, garlic, spices, and whatever else you want. They used to have add in ideas as well not sure if they still do, but yet another way to add complexity to the dish.
i started making hamburger helper when i was like 6 or 7. my mom worked nights so i would get it started and by the time she was ready it would be ready to eat and we still ate as a family.
Never had a bad Hamburger Helper; I think the stroganoff is probably my favourite. [If you like tinned tuna, Tuna Helper is also good.] It’s just reliable and easy, even a child can make it.
I have had both box and homemade. It is easy to make and it is on the table in less than 40 minutes. The name comes from the fact that a lot of people in the US call ground beef hamburger. There is also chicken helper as well that you can cook chicken or use canned chicken depending on what you have in your home. It is really popular with lower income families because Hamburger/chicken/tuna helper goes on sell a lot and then it can be like 5 boxes for $6. For a low income family they can get several boxes of it and only need the meat and some vegetables and you have a complete meal that can cost less than $10 for the whole family. You don't just have to use ground beef in the Hamburger helper you can use any ground meat you want to use.
I grew up with boxed hamburger helper for dinner at least once a week. I still crave the stroganoff sometimes but by and large I make my own seasoning, put it in plastic bags, fill a Mason jar with my favorite pastas, drop a seasoning bag in, and when I want a quick meal, I can brown my ground beef (often just called hamburger), drop in the seasoning, add water, milk, and cook like the box. I make another childhood staple, rice-a-roni, like this too. Fresher taste, far more healthy than the heavily processed box stuff.
I made a lot of these when my children were small. Easy to make and kids love pasta. Now, my children are grown, and if I had to choose one, it would be the tuna helper.
Nicola and Andrew @Two Brits Try , this video is fantastic as well as all of your other videos and you have a fan in me! I would further encourage you both to set a single serving of both dishes in an equal dish with a label under it telling which dish was made by who. Then I think that you should take a minute each blind-folded mixing the dishes up at random in a fast forward view on video, and then taste each dish afterwards blind-folded and declare a winner. You may be very surprised as well as your audience. This would show the true magic of recipes of fully prepared meals versus ready made meals. I think this would be an extreme hit. Thank you and keep doing your videos. Nicola, you are so beautiful and delightful and Andrew, you are so very handsome and entertaining as well. You together are an amazing duo. Thanks.
Wow, your kind words mean a lot to us! We’re thrilled you’re enjoying our videos, and we’ll definitely consider your fun idea for a future episode! Thanks for watching!😊
My favorite Hamburger Helper is the potato stroganoff variety. Follow the directions on the box to start out. But then, add thinly sliced onions. A can of sliced mushrooms drained or sliced fresh mushrooms. And about 2/3 cup of frozen peas or peas and carrots. (The peas are optional but I put them in because I like peas.) Once mixed in and just warmed through, and the potatoes are just about cooked through, transfer the mixture to a baking pan and bake covered in the oven at 350° F for 30 minutes, until bubbling all around the edges and just browned on top. If your baking dish is one with a glass lid, great - use the lid. This Hamburger Helper turned casserole is a favorite dinner for which I make sure to keep this variety of Helper on hand.
Growing up we sometimes had hamburger helper for dinner on Friday. It’s a quick and easy meal along with a vegetable. The homemade hamburger helper looks very good and better for you because it’s not a processed food.
Raised in the US South (North Carolina) and we always used finely ground hamburger meat. We also always ate it in a hamburger bun, or two loaf bread slices.
You are right, the beef keeps it's flavor so i add spices to my beef when browning it at the beginning. I addsmy standard hamburger spices: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and a little paprika.
Quick and easy, that's what Hamburger Helper is all about. Personally, my favorite is the Beef Stroganoff. I sometimes add a can of corn in with it. It makes great leftovers, too. By the way, Nicola, I love the pretty yellow bow you're wearing. Very nice. ☺
The reason to get low sodium broth is control, so you can add salt as needed. Otherwise you are screwed with the amount of salt in the broth unable to change it without increasing the volume via water or more tomatoes.
After I became an adult I started making it from scratch. It tasted a lot better than the store bought one. We call ground beef hamburger meat you said you call it mince meat.
My family didn't have much money when I was growing up. Helper was a staple food in our house. With the cheese ones we would sometimes substitute chicken.
LOL. Echoes of my childhood. Potato Stroganoff was always my dad's fave .Noodles Romanoff was mine. Ground beef is done with a machine. Minced beef can be done Chinese style with two sharp knives for a different product. The Chinese cookbook I learned that from recommends singing as you mince to make it go by more pleasantly. Tuna Helper Tuna Tetrazzini is my all time favorite of these. My dad made American Goulash, a precursor to this .Brown ground beef with chopped onions, add a large can of tomatoes(15 oz),a regular can of sweet corn, half a pound pack of macaroni and enough water to cook it and salt and pepper and Italian Seasoning .Leave out the corn and use chili powder and the whole pack of pasta for chili mac and top that with shredded cheese .Americans in my childhood would have bread, a green vegetable and a side salad with the Hamburger Helper,if they could afford it and their parents had any cooking skills.A cousin of my dude won't touch HH because his mother cannot cook and used it constantly. lol. Her ham was feared at Christmas but people were poor enough in his family to eat it. 😆
Hamburger Helper puts all the spice you need in the box so you don't have to "think" about it. Its about the simplicity after work. Hamburger isn't just the patty it is the cooked ground beef as well.
we make ours with half the ground beef & add the suggestions on the back... like fresh spinach & tomatoes for our favorite flavor... its pretty fun, lol ❤
The box mixes were made for people who didn't really know how to cook and needed something fast because they were really busy schedules. After you make a few boxes, you kinda learn how to make the same meal from scratch, adding or changing the ingrediants to suit your taste.I like to add cooked mixed vegies,peas, or broccoli to mine. Well done you two.
You're absolutely right! Box mixes can be a great starting point, and it's awesome how they can inspire creativity in the kitchen. Thanks for sharing your tips!
I’d say the Hamburger Helper one is a weekday, after-work meal. The other recipe is a good relaxing weekend, comfort food version. But even with all Hamburger Helper, I generally use it as a base. For this one, I’d add onions, mushrooms and peas. Maybe a dollop of sour cream. And maybe a couple shakes of a no-salt seasoning blend.
My favorite version is probably just the regular stroganoff. My dad tried to make it from scratch before with sour cream or cream cheese and herbs and it was maybe not as good. lol Quick in a pinch and cheap ready to feed the whole family.
I really like hamburger helper. I add an extra cup of egg noodles, some butter, mustard powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Served with crunchy buttered bread.
This is a dinner kids commonly cook for themselves. Its a food stepping stone. Very young kids can make pb&j. Older kids can make mac and cheese to show they can be safe with the stove. Then they can graduate to hamburger helper. Then you start giving them complicated stuff. I say that, but teaching kids to cook doesn't seem to happen anyone. I cooked countless boxes of hamburger helper from around 8 to about 15. I still keep it around. But today I either want to cook from scratch or I want something quick out of a can. Rarely do I make something out of a box.
That is a great idea!! Thank you for sharing the cooking journey! It’s inspiring to hear how you can transition from Hamburger Helper to more complex dishes! Thanks for watching😊
Oh you guys are kidding me! I just made Hamburger Helper for the very first time tonight! I'm sure I've eaten it more times than I could count. Even though my mother and my wife didn't use it a lot, I know they did at some point. Being widowed a few years back I'm still learning how to make things on my own and I'm surprised myself that I haven't tried this before now. I made the Stroganoff variety. It's pretty good. Probably could have used a little salt and pepper but I've plenty of leftovers to try that with. By the way skillet is not just a frying pan but it's the name of a rock band as well.
I tried Tuna Helper once and didn't care for it too much. Since I bought multiple boxes, the next time I substituted the tuna for chicken and enjoyed it that way. Here in the U.S. we have canned chicken in the same size as the tuna cans. 😀
That's a smart substitution! It's great to hear you found a way to enjoy it with chicken instead. Experimenting with ingredients can lead to some delicious results!
It “helps” stretch your hamburger (usually 1ib) to feed more people (4-6) instead of (2-4) I believe it came out I. The 60’s or 70’s. Classic struggle meals that feeds a family ❤️
The whole point of Hamburger Helper is to make a quick and easy family meal, typically served on weekdays by parents that don't have much time to cook dinner after getting home from work in the afternoon.
Thanks for sharing!
And cheap!
Many blue collar families didn't have any work to go to in the '70s. My Mom was a homemaker. My Dad was a carpenter, and because the housing industry took a dive in the '70s, he was out of steady work from the mid '70s until things started to recover in the early '80s (and then he went to work building multi-million dollar yachts). He had also done some logging and lumber mill work, but those industries also slowed because of the housing industry situation.
So we were dirt poor, and Hamburger Helper was cheap so we ate it quite a bit. I remember that very particular taste well. I never liked it, but was happy to have something to eat at least. To me it is poverty food.
@@jackgilchrist I liked it. It was better than my mother‘s cooking. lol. Also, yeah, my dad was low ranking military in the 80s and we didn’t have a lot of money either so I get it.
You should serve a salad or green vegetable and garlic bread with it.
My mom made this often. We were very poor growing up, so it was cheap and filling.
it may not be good for your heart, but it feels so good for your soul when you are struggling financially.
😊 thank you
Nice thing about Hamburger Helper is you can add to it, like veggies and other stuff
Thank you for the suggestion!!!
@@TwoBritsTry welcome!
All of us 70s kids were raised on Hamburger Helper. The economy was bad. We were in a recession and gas shortages were very real. That meant sitting in line for hours to get a tank of gas. What's more, this was the first generation where both parents usually worked, so they needed something simple and very filling. Preferably a meal that could be ready in 20 minutes and would be child friendly. If it didn't quite fill you up, bread and margarine filled in the gaps. Nicola I may steal your recipe and use it. It looks delicious. But to be fair to Andrew, I'd eat the other one too. Especially if you topped it with half a cup of good shredded cheddar cheese. Great video guys! You're so much fun to watch!
LOL beef tea is a very old British thing. They used to give it to hospital patients as far back as Florence Nightingale.
You better believe it
Remember how there were different days to get gas based on plate numbers (even and odd days).
Oh yes!! Some warm bread and butter would make it a great meal…
@TwoBritsTry my parents also would hide vegetables in the hamburger helper to make a one pan meal. Or we would have a garden vegetable or a side salad using iceberg lettuce.
I came to say the same thing. I grew up dirt poor in a family of 6. We raised and butchered our own beef, so ground beef was easy to come by. Hamburger Helper, a side of veggies from our garden, and a loaf of french bread with butter was an economical way to feed the family. Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, etc were at least once a week growing up!
A skillet is a large frying pan, the pot works fine of course. We also call ground beef hamburger sometimes. I grew up eating hamburger helper there are tons of different kinds and there is also chicken helper in addition to tuna. I think probably the homemade one tastes much better although it defeats the purpose of hamburger helper, which was made for people who are busy to make a hot fairly cheap dinner in less than 20 minutes for themselves or family after coming home from work exhausted or something. I think it would be cool if you tried the stroganoff flavor of hamburger helper and then made hamburger stroganoff from scratch and compare. I think you have really fun personalities together 😊
Thanks for your input!! 😊
@ Thanks for the reply! I’m glad I found your channel, it’s fun.
I agree the beef stroganoff flavor is amazing but my absolute favorite is potatoes stroganoff. Potatoes stroganoff substitutes scalloped potatoes instead of pasta everything else is the same as the regular stroganoff ❤️
@@jasonwhoever5528 That sounds really good actually! I will have to try that. When I was a kid sometimes we had it over rice, which most think is weird. I like it that way but prefer egg noodles, who knows though potatoes could be a new twist for me.
@DreemCatching the potatoes stroganoff is sometimes hard for me to find at Walmart but Amazon has it all the time. ❤️ I will eat the regular beef stroganoff flavor but I just prefer the potatoes over the pasta . Also I don't follow the directions on the box I use only milk I don't add any water. Whatever the measurements are for the water I substitute with milk. 😁
Boxed hamburger helper favorites: Beefy Pasta, Stroganoff and Cheeseburger Mac
Tuna Helper Favorite: Tuna Tetrazzini
Always season your meat. I even add a few seasonings to some of the boxed ones while cooking as well. I also often add mushrooms or a veg to certain ones.
Agree with you about seasoning the meat. I always cook meat with the seasoning rather than by itself.
Thanks for the tips and sharing your favorites 👍
@@TwoBritsTryYes, most people will put a personal touch on it. Seasonings, onions, peppers etc. Tailored to your personal tastes
No mushrooms
The Stroganoff is my fave, fwiw.
Good one!
We will definitely try the stroganoff version next time! Thanks for watching
Me too
American 70's-80's kid here. I'll second stroganoff being the best hamburger helper
@@KTKacer that and the taco with that sour cream topping.
Stroganoff is my favorite too.
There is a meme popular in the US that says something along the lines of: According to my box of mac & cheese, I'm a family of four.
😂😂😂 that is so funny!
Yeah, the “Serving Size” on American packages is designed to make it seem like the food has fewer calories than it actually does.
The homemade one is more like creamy goulash. Of course it will beat anything that comes out of a box, but the thing about the helper is, it's just a base. You can add onions and tomatoes, or other veg, and additional spices, to improve it, if you want to.
Thank you for sharing! Your right the options are endless 😊
You can, indeed, level up Hamburger Helper substantially with pretty simple additions. For the Italian style flavors, add mushrooms, black olives, and Italian seasoned canned tomatoes. For Mexican styled varieties, add black olives, jalapenos, and chili spiced canned tomatoes. Be sure to reduce the water to compensate for the tomato juice. Mozzarella, cheddar, Monterey jack, or Parmesan cheese on top. Still quick and easy, but tastier.😊
I always start with a large onion and caramelize it.
I laughed when y'all said it being "helper" before Nicola forgot to put the beef in her recipe. Growing up poor, we would sometimes not have ground beef but have a box of Hamburger Helper in the kitchen and my mom would make it and say we were having Helper for dinner, lol
Thank you for watching and sharing your memories 😊😊
It calls for a pound of ground beef but we would use half pound or third pound since we were poor. Add in extra pasta, and that fed all of us
Cousin Eddie in National Lampoon’s Vacation: “I don’t know why they call it Hamburger Helper, tastes just fine on its own!”
One of my childhood friend's Dad would add a can of navy beans and we had "Hamburger Helpless".
@@joantrotter3005 lol
When I make boxxed beef Stoganoff Hamburger Helper, I use a half pound of meat (beef) and a half pound of Mushrooms, diced onion and deglaze the pan with a little white wine after browning meat. I alway doctor up my processed foods, lol.
Great suggestion!! Thank you
I also add Worcestershire sauce....
Salt and some garlic powder also does wonders here
in the US for ground beef you have several levels based on the fat to lean ratio (sirloin, round, chuck, hamburger)
so yes Hamburger helper is named for use with higher fat content ground beef
and it is called hamburger because it is what you would use for the most basic hamburger
the difference between the homemade and the store bought is price
the store bought box of Hamburger Helper costs about $1-2 while the homemade costs about $8-9
Good point!! The convenience of the book really helps
No. Sirloin, round and chuck are parts of the critter. Whether 73/75/80/85/90/93/96% lean it comes from any part of the cow, unless a specific cut (eg 90% sirloin - the % being the lean, from that cut) is mentioned.
@@mrhippo2874 i am aware
before you ask i worked as butcher for 2 years during high school
for ground beef
sirloin is 90+% lean, no added fat
-from sirloin
round is 85 - 90% lean, no added fat
-from round
chuck is 80 - 85% lean, no added fat
-from chuck
ground beef is 70+% lean, no added fat
-made the same way as hamburger
hamburger is 70+% can contain added fat
-made from off cuts of butchered beef (excluding innards)
-in theory, there could be pieces of sirloin, chuck, ribs, or even filet mignon
this is regulated by law in the US
the reason is because the steak by the same name is always the same as above even tho they are large cuts of the cow
you really do not want to eat beef with more then 93% lean it becomes tough and leathery anyway you cook it
Nicola is such a natural in front of the camera! I love her name too! Great video! I haven't had hamburger helper for years, but now I want to make some tomorrow for nostalgic reasons!💗 Thanks for the video!
Thanks so much!!😊
You nailed it!! Haven't had this in years. And back when watching network television was still a thing, you would see endless advertisements for hamburger helper. They even had a very popular jingle that was part of the ad. And as per usual, you have rekindled this old memory and I will be picking up a box of HH on my next trip to the grocery store. lol.. The final product from both of you look great. I think I will get my wife to help me prepare it and we can pretend that we too have a cooking channel.... maybe not! lol.... But it sure is fun watching you two do it. You guys are a riot!! Rich and Mila ♥
Yay! Thank you 😊 it was really good 👍
She looks like an ancient ruler/queen that would be in a history book. I think it is the cheekbones.
Thank you!! 😊
Sometimes people in the US call ground beef, hamburger. Technically, there is a difference, based on federal regulations that define ground beef as coming from one cow and hamburger as coming from multiple cows and blended together.
Thanks for clarifying that!!
Actually, what is labeled "hamburger" can have extra fat added to it but "ground beef" cannot. It has nothing to do with the meat coming from one or multiple cows.
@ Hmm, I guess I’m wrong. I really thought I read that somewhere.
We can also buy different ratios of fat to lean. I believe 70/30 is hamburger. It is the least expensive. Hamburger Helper is intended for fast and inexpensive meals requiring very little in the way of fresh ingredients.
@@TwoBritsTry don't listen to that BS. Hamburger and ground beef are pretty much interchangeable. It's just grounded up beef that's used mainly and hamburgers.
3 things i do when making Hamburger Helper:
1- season the meat when you’re cooking it, even a little Worcestershire Sauce too
2- don’t add the water, just the milk
3- when it’s almost done, throw a few chunks of butter in there
I really like the Tuna Helper Cheesy Pasta. It's very good.
We really have to try the Tuna helper in the future. Thanks for the advice
... They separated the "add tuna" suggestion into a separate Tuna Helper now? 😂 I remember eating "hamburger helper" mac and cheese or cheesy pasta, and it has "suggestion" of adding Tuna instead for different taste/flare when I was young. The whole family didn't like the Tuna version except me 😂.
As Mrpenguinlife said it was meant as a quick easy meal. Also in the US very cheap. Aldi has a version that cost less then $2 plus maybe $3.50 for a pound of ground beef. So for about $6 a family of four could eat.
Yes we can see it is a convenient and cost effective way to feed a family!
Ground beef used to be called by which cut was used - ground round, ground sirloin, etc. Ground hamburger was a combination of scraps the butcher had usually ending up with a higher fat content but could be from filet, rib, Chuck, etc. It was also the least expensive version available, hence Hamburger Helper.
Thanks for the clarification and information!! Thanks for watching 😊
I’m really loving both of your channels guys! It just makes me smile when I watch your videos. Thank you so much for that right now 🙂
We're so glad to hear that our videos bring a smile to your face! Thank you for your support and Thanks for watching!😊
Your blue Dutch Oven, is cast iron and a great vessel to cook many different recipes in. All the seasoning needed is already in the Hamburger helper. The nice thing about hamburger helper is, you can add a veggie while cooking it.
We didn’t think of adding vegetables!! That is a great idea 👍
The algorithm popped y'all in my feed and I love it. Stunning in yellow. I subscribed. Y'all are fun. I'm from Mississippi USA
Thanks for joining our foodie adventure and thanks for subscribing! We're glad you enjoyed the video and hope you stick around for more fun!
Fantastic! You two are so much fun! And it looks as if you're thoroughly enjoying learning how to cook North American recipes. I'm so pleased to see how much you're embracing our culture. Your adventures, whether traveling, or trying recipes, are so nice to watch. Thank you!
Thanks so much! 😊
So enjoy watching you two!! Thank you so much for the joy you bring! Wishing you all the best!!
Thank you so much!😊 your comment really made our day
I grew up on Hamburger Helper and Kool Aid.
And you don't have health issues?
And probably shake and bake. And I helped ... lol
Same, and we loved to dip white bread in corn syrup for dessert 😂
I don't eat the food I used to in my childhood anymore.
A lot of people like to joke about when they come from humble beginnings. WE USED TO BE SO POOR THAT ALL WE COULD AFFORD TO EAT WAS THE HELPER IN HAMBURGER HELPER. I always make a double batch which requires 2 lb of ground beef. Two boxes add potato stroganoff. Half a gallon of milk. It cost me about $28 😁😀😁😀 I don't care how I still love it❤
Great idea to batch cook it!! It’s so easy to reheat! Thanks for watching
SAME! It's good and I don't care what anyone says lol
Hamburger Helper was a treat in our house. (We were very poor). I still like it once in a while. For a different twist, make it with pre-made frozen meatballs.
The best meatloaf I ever made was HH meatloaf. I can't find it in stores any more.
@russellrofe4849 I still love it. I have difficulty finding my favorite hamburger helper at Walmart sometimes but I've always had good luck getting it on Amazon. ❤️
I grew up eating Hamburger Helper as a kid and I loved every single one of them including the tuna helper. My personal favorite Hamburger Helper is the Beef Noodle/Beef Pasta and Beef Stroganoff. When it comes to cooking it from the box, I will add my own spices (along with the seasoning packet) and I like to add peas and mushrooms to mine (if I'm cooking Beef Noodle and Beef Stroganoff) to mine...it gives it an extra depth of flavor. Love the videos as always.
Thanks for sharing your favorites sounds like we need to get stuck in a try some more varieties.. thanks for watching
@@TwoBritsTry it's my pleasure. While I grew up with the boxed stuff, you can't beat a nice homemade pot of hamburger helper.
Hamburger Helper was a staple growing up for a quick and inexpensive dinner. My favorites used to be the Beef Stroganoff and the Cheeseburger but they changed the recipes several years ago so they aren't as flavorful as they used to be. Still makes a good dinner but not a go-to anymore. The taco one is tasty but I really don't buy them anymore.
Homemade is always best but when you're in a rush as you said, the box works.
Thanks for sharing! We might have to try those suggestions
@@TwoBritsTry Have you guys tried making a pot roast, grilled cheese/tomato soup, BLT sandwich, yet?
@@tinahairston6383 good afternoon ma'am. I hope you're well! I recognized you right away from Mr. H. Channel. A good grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup! Doesn't get much better than that ❤️
@@jasonwhoever5528 It's really my favorite soup/sandwich combination :)
Hamburger helper was a staple for me as a kid. Depending on the flavor, other things like onions, peppers, etc. were added when we had the extra money, which makes it so much better, nit that it isn't fine on its own.
It's amazing how a simple dish like Hamburger Helper can bring back such nostalgic memories! We can see that adding extra ingredients would definitely take it to the next level.
I really really love y'all! You are nailing it! Greetings from East Tennessee from an older disabled lady who can't get out anymore!
Thank you so much for your kind message!! It has made us both very happy thank you
You know the box has directions on it
Thanks for watching
I love the video! You two are great and the hamburger helper looks delicious.
Loved you guys. So much fun I subscribed
Thanks for subbing! we appreciate you taking the time to watch👍
Bookmarked the recipe! I hope to make it tomorrow. I grew up on the boxed Hamburger Helper. Dad worked 10 hour days, Mom was a full time student and part time piano teacher, so quick and easy was sometimes necessary.
That is amazing! let us know what you think? Thanks for watching
@@TwoBritsTry If I were still 10, I would go for the boxed version, but I've grown accustomed to more complicated tastes, so these days, I'd prefer the homemade, even though the boxed is so much easier. (and I'm going to triple double the garlic, because I can)
My fave is the Stroganoff Hamburger helper. When I make it, I season the beef while it's cooking with onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Then when I get to the boiling stage I stir in a tin of sliced mushrooms. Serve it with a little dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of paprika. So good.
Sounds great! Thanks for the advice
As a single mom of 3 teens who had to be in 4 different sports, dancing, after-school activities - THANK GOD for Hamburger Helper!!! We didn't have much time after school to eat and this was quick. (We just never liked Tuna Helper🤮 . My kids are now in their late 20s, living the busy life we did, and they still don't like tuna. (I would go back to those busy days again, but now it's their turn with my grandchildren. ❤️❤️❤️❤️)
I always add more seasoning to my hamburger helper but, I am from south Louisiana ,which means I add more seasoning to everything I cook.If you want to do hamburger helper for the convenience add garlic powder onion,powder ,salt, pepper ,and anything else you like including shredded cheese , Italian seasoning paprika. Make it your own.
This video was great. My kids are all grown now, but when I was a single mom of three teenagers, I would make 4-5 boxes of hamburger helper for the 4 of us - homework had to be done, then off to wresting practice, football & basketball practice, dancing lessons, and grad school for Mom all at the same time!
When I actually had the time to make it 'outside of the box' the kids hated it. 🤪 My new amazing husband and I still eat it today, although the kids are grown and we have an empty nest, it's something quick to make after a long day at work.
In fact, this is dinner tomorrow!
Thank you for sharing your memories of hamburger helper!!! Hope you enjoy it tomorrow 😊😊
I haven't eaten Hamburger helper since they invented Velveeta cheesy skillets. It's kinda the same but with a big pack of cheese sauce in each box.
My favs is
If I'm eating hamburger
I get ultimate cheeseburger or whatever it's called
If I'm wanting chicken
I get the chicken bacon ranch
Its incredible and the leftovers reheated taste even better sometimes.
Hamburger is just like you do any other type but chicken we get boneless chicken breast 1pound per box and I dice them into bite size chunks. Then just cook it the same as hamburger type
I bookmarked Nicola's recipe. Will be trying this one! Thank You!
Great to Hear!!! Good Luck. Let us know what you think. Thanks for watching😊
@TwoBritsTry It was good although, I will not put as much onion in next time and add some cayenne pepper to make it spicy. As far as the boxed dinners go, Velveeta makes a better one than hamburger helper.
how do people not know what hamburger helper is? its what kept my family fed for 38 years aka a family of 6. because its $1 or less. you find it in the dollar store with the spam an ramen.
I have eaten every last flavor of hamburger helper their is an tuna is the fastest an easiest. its not my favorite but gets the job done.
I recommend if you can still find it the skillet version. so hearty.
then the basic one i liked was the Italian basial one. flavorful.
One of the few convenience foods dad would tolerate, so we had this a lot in the 70s when mom still worked. My one big tip is to boil the pasta for a few minutes in the amount of water the box calls for to make sure it is cooked well and then add the other things like milk and flavor packet. We did a lot of experimenting; putting canned peas in stroganoff or cheeseburger, pinto beans in the taco one or even making a pseudo-lasagna with cottage cheese by layering it with the lasagna helper and topping it with parmesan.
Some great ideas! Thank you 😊
We use the broth to add to a soup base, Stir in the pasta and stir. You have a pasta mix. STIR so it doesn't burn Taste before adding extra ingredients
It is nice to make the fast dish if you have to come home late
Both of those looked pretty awesome !
They were😋😋 thank you
Growing up, my mom would make her homemade versions of hamburger helper. After, i was living on my own, i used the pre-packaged box versions and loved it. My favorites were the original and tuna tetrazini boxes
It's amazing how food memories shape our tastes! Homemade versions always have a special place in our hearts, but nothing beats the convenience of the boxed versions. Thanks for watching
It's been years since I had Hamburger Helper. I've had the one with Tuna which is pretty good. Your homemade one looks delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! You too!
Hamburger helper because hamburger can use all the help it can get.
Oh man, why dont we have hamburger helper in the uk?
Right at the risk of sounding critical,I thought Andrews dish looked the best visually but Nicola's dish looked of a richer consistency! Mmmmm! Id scoff them both!♥️
Loving the new channel, you guys could well be the Fanny & Johnnie Craddock of the you tube world! Wow!🌍👍👏👏♥️🏴
lol!!! Thank you so much for your kind words…
I use hamburger helper as a starter but then add in Other things like Tomatoes , sautéed onions, garlic, and plenty of spices. I also sometimes add in a little bit of beef stock to enhance the flavoring.. on the stroganoff version I had sour cream and sautéed mushrooms. There’s also a taco version out there. They had extra cheese, tomatoes, onions, and more taco seasoning it crushed corn chips to give it that quality flavor lasagna flavor I add in stewed, tomatoes, and peppers and for an occasionally special treat some pepperoni. from a large family, we had to make art in a Dutch oven because there were too many of us to do one box and have to figure out how to put it way to put the vegetables in by the way, the tuna, helper and chicken helpers, can you usually be interchangeable with chicken or tuna? You can also use ground turkey for any of the hamburger helpers and if you need to go vegetarian, you can use vegetarian crumbles.
I grew up on eating the box Hamburger Helper. I still eat it to this day. I like to put Hamburger Helper on top w a big hunk of warm, butter cornbread. Perfect comfort food.
Thanks for sharing! The Buttered cornbread addition sounds tremendous 😋
Hamburger Helper is my shiznit. I haven't eaten red meat since '96 so I always use ground 🦃 ( there really isn't that big of a difference). One of the things I love abt HH is all the ways u can jazz it up. Long live Hamburger Helper !❤❤❤❤
I have a friend who was never much of a cook. She made tuna helper and totally forgot the tuna. She didn’t realize until they ate it.
😂😂 it’s so easy to forget!! Thanks for watching
That sounds like something a person I know would do.
She made some pies for a holiday. She used frozen pie crust that’s already in the pan which has a wax paper circle between the two pans to keep the top pan from sticking to the crust of the bottom pan.
This person did not remove the wax paper circle (which has writing on it by the way) and poured her pie filling into the pie crust with the wax paper circle and baked it. The paper partially floated to the top.
Fortunately, the other pie crust did not have the wax paper circle, and that was the one she served her family on the holiday and the other one with the paper, she removed the paper and had that pie for the next day for the family members that stayed overnight
I don't remove the ground beef from the pan. Once it's browned I just throw everything else in and simmer it. Super easy.
I have always used hamburger helper as a starting point. Always had a house full of kids, only 3 were mine, and a double batch of HH was the go to meal. Adding extra cheese, meat, noodles, even veggies like corn, peas and broccoli. What ever I had to make it stretch farther is what I used. And always extra seasonings and sauces. Just quick and easy. All 3 of my kids, and some of the neighborhood kids, could all make HH by the time they were 10. My 2 oldest would regularly have dinner going before I got home. And as adults, are all great cook’s. My oldest son has gotten into canning, vegetables, soups, and jelly, jam’s and preserves. My daughter is into baking, also my youngest is learning the arts of the pit master.
It's amazing to hear how you turned Hamburger Helper into a family affair! Sounds like you created some great cooks in the process! Thanks for watching!😊
Flavors of Hamburger Helper:
Cheesy Mac,
Chili Mac,
Stroganoff,
Lasagne,
Etc.
Tuna Helper:
Creamy Tuna,
Cheesy Tuna,
Etc.
I believe there's at least one Hamburger Helper that comes with thinly sliced potatoes. When my kids were young we ate a lot of Hamburger & Tuna Helper. They were pretty tasty.
Thanks for sharing the different flavors! It's interesting to see how versatile Hamburger Helper can be. We'll have to do a taste-off! Do you have a favorite?
There’s a potato stroganoff one I believe
The homemade one looks delicious! I WILL try that someday. But being an American, I have a looooong history with Hamburger Helper. I know what the Cheeseburger Macaroni tastes like and really like it as easy comfort food. It's really good!
Thanks for watching😊 The recipe is in the description, it was really nice!
These are fun videos! I keep a box of hamburger helper (stroganoff) and tuna helper (cheddar broccoli) in the back of the pantry in case I have no time and need to fill tummies quickly- nothing wrong with an emergency quick meal option. My tuna casserole is about the same effort as Nicola's option and also uses cavatappi, but it bakes in the oven 20 extra minutes with a breadcrumb topping. Look at that lovely glass liquid measuring cup.
I really appreciate your insight! It's always helpful to hear about quick meal ideas, and your tuna casserole sounds delicious! Thanks for watching!😊
Hamburger Helper- my childhood. So nostalgic. Still love it now.
Yay!! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts
i fooking love boxed hamburger helper
It was really tasty! Thanks for watching
We had the stroganoff hamburger helper just this last week after not having it for quite a while. I usually do my own homemade hamburger helper version . But, I’m going through a I don’t feel like cooking phase lol. I could tell when it got done cooking though it smelled kind of bland so I just added lots of garlic powder, onion powder, and some nutmeg, and it wasn’t too bad! Another fun video!
That is awesome! It’s an easy and versatile dish! Thanks for watching
You can always doctor up the box stuff, fresh onion, garlic, spices, and whatever else you want. They used to have add in ideas as well not sure if they still do, but yet another way to add complexity to the dish.
We are just starting to realize how versatile this is!! We’ll have to add some the next time. Thanks for the suggestion
Always season our processed foods! Cheeseburger, Beef Stroganoff, Beef Pasta, Four Cheese Lasagna w toasted garlic bread/ cheese garlic bread 👌🏾🔥
Sounds great!👍
i started making hamburger helper when i was like 6 or 7. my mom worked nights so i would get it started and by the time she was ready it would be ready to eat
and we still ate as a family.
Never had a bad Hamburger Helper; I think the stroganoff is probably my favourite. [If you like tinned tuna, Tuna Helper is also good.] It’s just reliable and easy, even a child can make it.
Thank you for the tip!
They have a noodle stroganoff and a potato stroganoff. I prefer the latter.😊
I have had both box and homemade. It is easy to make and it is on the table in less than 40 minutes. The name comes from the fact that a lot of people in the US call ground beef hamburger. There is also chicken helper as well that you can cook chicken or use canned chicken depending on what you have in your home. It is really popular with lower income families because Hamburger/chicken/tuna helper goes on sell a lot and then it can be like 5 boxes for $6. For a low income family they can get several boxes of it and only need the meat and some vegetables and you have a complete meal that can cost less than $10 for the whole family. You don't just have to use ground beef in the Hamburger helper you can use any ground meat you want to use.
Thanks for sharing this information!! We really appreciate your comment 👍
I grew up with boxed hamburger helper for dinner at least once a week. I still crave the stroganoff sometimes but by and large I make my own seasoning, put it in plastic bags, fill a Mason jar with my favorite pastas, drop a seasoning bag in, and when I want a quick meal, I can brown my ground beef (often just called hamburger), drop in the seasoning, add water, milk, and cook like the box. I make another childhood staple, rice-a-roni, like this too. Fresher taste, far more healthy than the heavily processed box stuff.
Thanks for the info! Homemade is definitely the way to go if you have time
I made a lot of these when my children were small. Easy to make and kids love pasta. Now, my children are grown, and if I had to choose one, it would be the tuna helper.
Thanks for the recommendation!
Nicola and Andrew @Two Brits Try , this video is fantastic as well as all of your other videos and you have a fan in me! I would further encourage you both to set a single serving of both dishes in an equal dish with a label under it telling which dish was made by who. Then I think that you should take a minute each blind-folded mixing the dishes up at random in a fast forward view on video, and then taste each dish afterwards blind-folded and declare a winner. You may be very surprised as well as your audience. This would show the true magic of recipes of fully prepared meals versus ready made meals. I think this would be an extreme hit. Thank you and keep doing your videos. Nicola, you are so beautiful and delightful and Andrew, you are so very handsome and entertaining as well. You together are an amazing duo. Thanks.
Wow, your kind words mean a lot to us! We’re thrilled you’re enjoying our videos, and we’ll definitely consider your fun idea for a future episode! Thanks for watching!😊
My favorite Hamburger Helper is the potato stroganoff variety. Follow the directions on the box to start out. But then, add thinly sliced onions. A can of sliced mushrooms drained or sliced fresh mushrooms. And about 2/3 cup of frozen peas or peas and carrots. (The peas are optional but I put them in because I like peas.) Once mixed in and just warmed through, and the potatoes are just about cooked through, transfer the mixture to a baking pan and bake covered in the oven at 350° F for 30 minutes, until bubbling all around the edges and just browned on top. If your baking dish is one with a glass lid, great - use the lid. This Hamburger Helper turned casserole is a favorite dinner for which I make sure to keep this variety of Helper on hand.
Thanks for the recipe advice 😊
@@TwoBritsTryYou're welcome.
One thing to keep in mind. You can use the boxed hamburger helper as a base and add to it. Such as different cheeses or caramelized onions.
Growing up we sometimes had hamburger helper for dinner on Friday. It’s a quick and easy meal along with a vegetable.
The homemade hamburger helper looks very good and better for you because it’s not a processed food.
Thanks for sharing!!
I just love you guys... You messed up eating biscuits and gravy at a fast food joint in CA... but you're learning and I appreciate that.
Thank you for your kind words! We’re always up for trying new things, and we appreciate your support on our culinary journey!
Get a cast iron skillet about 12 to 14 iches.
Raised in the US South (North Carolina) and we always used finely ground hamburger meat. We also always ate it in a hamburger bun, or two loaf bread slices.
Thanks for sharing! We would love to visit North Carolina in the future 😊
I definitely drank hot cups of broth. It was like sipping on soup.
Andrew loves it too! Thanks for watching
As often as not, people personalize the boxed Hamburger Helper. Adding veggies is common, adding extra pasta, added seasonings, etc.
We didn’t know that! But it really makes sense , thank you for sharing 😊
It’s a quick comfort food, kids love it, you can tart it up, I’d classify it as (Bachelor Chow)
😊 love that
You are right, the beef keeps it's flavor so i add spices to my beef when browning it at the beginning. I addsmy standard hamburger spices: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and a little paprika.
Great tip! Thank you for sharing 😊
The thing about Hamburger Helper is, it is just a base. You can add veggies and spices to it, to your taste.
We didn’t think about adding anything to it but now you mention it , the options are endless 😊
Quick and easy, that's what Hamburger Helper is all about. Personally, my favorite is the Beef Stroganoff. I sometimes add a can of corn in with it. It makes great leftovers, too. By the way, Nicola, I love the pretty yellow bow you're wearing. Very nice. ☺
Thanks for sharing!
The reason to get low sodium broth is control, so you can add salt as needed. Otherwise you are screwed with the amount of salt in the broth unable to change it without increasing the volume via water or more tomatoes.
After I became an adult I started making it from scratch. It tasted a lot better than the store bought one. We call ground beef hamburger meat you said you call it mince meat.
That's awesome to hear! Making it from scratch can definitely elevate the flavor. Thanks for watching😊
I'm not a good tuna fan. So I replace tuna with can chicken. It's delicious. Truly enjoy Your videos especially when you 2 cook ❤❤❤
Thank you for the suggestion and thank you for kind words
All can fish is a turn off 😊
My family didn't have much money when I was growing up. Helper was a staple food in our house. With the cheese ones we would sometimes substitute chicken.
LOL. Echoes of my childhood. Potato Stroganoff was always my dad's fave .Noodles Romanoff was mine. Ground beef is done with a machine. Minced beef can be done Chinese style with two sharp knives for a different product. The Chinese cookbook I learned that from recommends singing as you mince to make it go by more pleasantly. Tuna Helper Tuna Tetrazzini is my all time favorite of these. My dad made American Goulash, a precursor to this .Brown ground beef with chopped onions, add a large can of tomatoes(15 oz),a regular can of sweet corn, half a pound pack of macaroni and enough water to cook it and salt and pepper and Italian Seasoning .Leave out the corn and use chili powder and the whole pack of pasta for chili mac and top that with shredded cheese .Americans in my childhood would have bread, a green vegetable and a side salad with the Hamburger Helper,if they could afford it and their parents had any cooking skills.A cousin of my dude won't touch HH because his mother cannot cook and used it constantly. lol. Her ham was feared at Christmas but people were poor enough in his family to eat it. 😆
Thanks for the suggestions on which to buy next!!
Hamburger Helper puts all the spice you need in the box so you don't have to "think" about it. Its about the simplicity after work. Hamburger isn't just the patty it is the cooked ground beef as well.
we make ours with half the ground beef & add the suggestions on the back... like fresh spinach & tomatoes for our favorite flavor... its pretty fun, lol ❤
Thanks for the tips!
The box mixes were made for people who didn't really know how to cook and needed something fast because they were really busy schedules. After you make a few boxes, you kinda learn how to make the same meal from scratch, adding or changing the ingrediants to suit your taste.I like to add cooked mixed vegies,peas, or broccoli to mine. Well done you two.
You're absolutely right! Box mixes can be a great starting point, and it's awesome how they can inspire creativity in the kitchen. Thanks for sharing your tips!
Came for the helper, subscribed for the witty banter and chemistry.
Yay!! Thank you so much 😊
I’d say the Hamburger Helper one is a weekday, after-work meal. The other recipe is a good relaxing weekend, comfort food version. But even with all Hamburger Helper, I generally use it as a base. For this one, I’d add onions, mushrooms and peas. Maybe a dollop of sour cream. And maybe a couple shakes of a no-salt seasoning blend.
Thanks for sharing!!
My favorite version is probably just the regular stroganoff. My dad tried to make it from scratch before with sour cream or cream cheese and herbs and it was maybe not as good. lol Quick in a pinch and cheap ready to feed the whole family.
Thank you for the recommendation of stroganoff helper! We need to give this a try 👍
Beef broth is good heated. Drink it , like a soup.
Andrew loves it too! Thanks for sharing 😊
I find hamburger helper to be quite good actually. Grew up in gb and us
Thank you for watching 👍
I really like hamburger helper. I add an extra cup of egg noodles, some butter, mustard powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Served with crunchy buttered bread.
That is a great suggestion!! Thanks for the tip!
Both of finished presentation looks yummy but home made is always better. Well done guys.
Thank you 😋
This is a dinner kids commonly cook for themselves. Its a food stepping stone. Very young kids can make pb&j. Older kids can make mac and cheese to show they can be safe with the stove. Then they can graduate to hamburger helper. Then you start giving them complicated stuff. I say that, but teaching kids to cook doesn't seem to happen anyone. I cooked countless boxes of hamburger helper from around 8 to about 15. I still keep it around. But today I either want to cook from scratch or I want something quick out of a can. Rarely do I make something out of a box.
That is a great idea!! Thank you for sharing the cooking journey! It’s inspiring to hear how you can transition from Hamburger Helper to more complex dishes! Thanks for watching😊
Oh you guys are kidding me! I just made Hamburger Helper for the very first time tonight! I'm sure I've eaten it more times than I could count. Even though my mother and my wife didn't use it a lot, I know they did at some point. Being widowed a few years back I'm still learning how to make things on my own and I'm surprised myself that I haven't tried this before now. I made the Stroganoff variety. It's pretty good. Probably could have used a little salt and pepper but I've plenty of leftovers to try that with. By the way skillet is not just a frying pan but it's the name of a rock band as well.
Thank you for watching and sharing your experience!
I tried Tuna Helper once and didn't care for it too much. Since I bought multiple boxes, the next time I substituted the tuna for chicken and enjoyed it that way. Here in the U.S. we have canned chicken in the same size as the tuna cans. 😀
That's a smart substitution! It's great to hear you found a way to enjoy it with chicken instead. Experimenting with ingredients can lead to some delicious results!
It “helps” stretch your hamburger (usually 1ib) to feed more people (4-6) instead of (2-4) I believe it came out I. The 60’s or 70’s. Classic struggle meals that feeds a family ❤️
Thanks for that! And thanks for watching