Hamburger Helper Copycat

This recipe is a homemade version of the famous boxed Hamburger Helper. Like it's namesake, it takes about 30 minutes to prepare and is made in a single skillet for easy cleanup. 

Unlike the original, it doesn't contain sugar, MSG, maltodextrin, citric acid, modified corn starch, mono diglycerides, or yellow dye, just to name a few of the ingredients listed on the package. So you'll be making a fresh, healthy meal for your family quickly on a weeknight giving them food they enjoy without ingredients they may not. 

Simple, healthy ingredients. No chemicals.

Note: You can make this recipe with all hamburger (85% lean ground beef), or you can substitute some sausage as I usually do. You get better overall flavor if you use 1 pound of ground beef and a half-pound of sausage. I'm partial to Italian sausage in the recipe and when I have some Italian sausage out for other purposes, I'll save a link or two, remove it from the casing and use it in the recipe along with some ground beef for a total of 1.5 pounds of meat, as shown above. 

Skillet: I prefer my large, deep 'chicken fryer' skillet for this recipe. I find it's a bit too much for my 12-inch nonstick. It will fit but it's just too full to stir without making a mess. So if you have something larger, either a skillet with high sides like my chicken fryer, or even a Dutch oven, use that. If it is not a non-stick skillet, then spray it with canola oil or other food release spray before using. The cleanup will still be easy.

Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped fine
6 garlic cloves, chopped fine

1 1/2 pounds ground meat (see note above)
2 cups elbow macaroni
1 (29-ounce) can tomato sauce

      or 2 14.5 ounce cans
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Chop the onion, pepper and garlic or process it until in a food processor until finely chopped. You may mix them together for the chopping.  

Brown the beef in large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Drain beef, leaving 2 tablespoons fat in skillet, and set the beef aside. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, and garlic to fat in skillet and cook, covered, until softened, about 3 minutes.

Add dry macaroni, tomato sauce, broth, oregano, basil and reserved beef to skillet, stir to combine and bring to boil. Stir again, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle in about 1/2 cup of the cheese. Stir to combine and serve with the remaining cheese sprinkled on top.