Homemade Hamburger Helper

I think a lot of North American kids - from my generation at least! - grew up eating Hamburger Helper fairly regularly. I remember falling out of love with it by middle school, and as far as I can recall I haven't had it since. (Not voluntarily anyways!) Lately, however, we've been trying to clean out our pantry and when trying to figure out what I could do to maximize pantry and freezer-emptying I realized that we had all the ingredients for hamburger helper. I didn't expect to particularly like the results - made from an adaptation of this lovely recipe - but it was a hit and made for decent leftovers the next day as well. There are a million versions of this out there, what's below is my twist made for my family's tastes. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Homemade Hamburger Helper

(5 servings)

Ingredients

500g/1lb of ground beef

1 medium-large onion (chopped)

1 stalk of celery (chopped)

5 cloves of garlic (minced/crushed)

1 teaspoon of parsley

1/2 teaspoon of oregano

1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika

Black pepper (to taste)

1/2 cup of tomato paste

2 cups of beef broth

1 cup of frozen peas and carrots

1 cup of milk

1 cup of water

2 bay leaves

400g / 14oz of medium shell pasta*

Salt (to taste)

Shredded cheddar (to garnish)

Sour cream (to garnish)

*Or whatever your pasta preference for hamburger helper is.

Directions

1) In a large pan over medium-high heat combine the beef, onion, and celery (consider adding a tablespoon of oil or butter if using super lean beef) and sauté until the onion becomes translucent and soft.

2) Throw in the garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes before adding the seasonings and sautéing another half minute or so until fragrant.

3) Add the tomato paste to the pan and thoroughly combine, sautéing for a minute or two to intensify the flavors.

4) Put the shells in some salted boiling water and cook to your desired firmness. You could just add the pasta to the main pan to cook, but I found that doing so required adding more water and took quite a bit more time. Cooking the shells separately is the best way to go, especially if you're in a hurry.

5) Stir in the broth, peas and carrots, milk, water, and bay leaves into the main pan and bring everything to a boil before reducing the heat to low to simmer (uncovered) while the pasta cooks.

6) Drain the pasta and add it to the main pan, tasting once it's been incorporated to see if any additional salt or seasonings are required.

7) Serve as is with some shredded cheddar and a dollop of sour cream (my favorite garnishes) or even with some garlic bread and enjoy!