I made this for my Freezer Cooking Week, but obviously it doesn't really go in the freezer.
If you ever look at my monthly menu plans you will sometimes see that "Daddy Night" is listed as a dinner. Nights when I am at school my husband is in charge of cooking, but I want him to have an easy time so in the past we have cooked up some ground beef and chicken in large batches and had it frozen, then all he had to do was add it to a hamburger helper type dinner and the meal was done! That worked well for us, but then I realized some of the ingredients that are in those mixes that I wanted to see if we could avoid more often, I decided to try to make my own.
There are many recipes out there if you are willing to start from scratch, but I was specifically looking for something shelf stable to imitate the boxed mixes so it filled the same function in our house. I found this set of recipes on Cheap Cooking they call for beef bullion but I have found you can't get one with out MSG and since that is an ingredient we are trying to avoid I have just left it out of my recipes(I may have to add a bit more salt during cooking to replace it).
Seasoning Mix (will make 4 "helpers"):
1 1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbs. garlic powder
2 Tbs. dried parsley
1/3 cup instant onion
3 Tbs. onion powder
1 Tbs. salt
1 2/3 cup dry milk
Mix this all up.
In each jar add:
2 cups noodles (elbow macaroni for example)
1/2 cup seasoning mixture
Then alter according to variation desired:
Cheeseburger skillet:
To Cook:
1 pound ground beef
2 cups water
Brown and drain the ground beef. Stir in the dry mix, 2 cups hot water and 2 cups noodles. You can add more or less water and noodles, proportionately, depending on much you need to stretch that pound of beef. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook until noodles are tender, about 20 minutes.
Then stir in 2 cups grated Cheddar or Colby cheese before serving.
Stroganoff:
Add 1/2 tsp of onion powder and 1/2 tsp celery salt with the dry mix.
To Cook:
1 pound ground beef
2 cups water
Brown and drain the ground beef. Stir in the dry mix, 2 cups hot water and 2 cups noodles.You can add more or less water and noodles, proportionately, depending on much you need to stretch that pound of beef. Then stir in a 1/2 cup fresh or canned mushrooms if you have them on hand. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook until noodles are tender, about 20 minutes.
After cooking noodles, stir in 1/4 cup sour cream just before serving.
Chili:
Add 1 Tbs chili powder to dry mix.
To cook:
1 pound ground beef
2 cups water
Brown and drain the ground beef. Stir in the dry mix, 2 cups hot water and 2 cups noodles. You can add more or less water and noodles, proportionately, depending on much you need to stretch that pound of beef. Add one 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook until noodles are tender, about 20 minutes.
Stir in 2 cups grated Cheddar or Colby cheese before serving.
My family loves the taco skillet version so I tried to create one using the same philosophy as the recipe above and a homemade taco seasoning from Recipe Zar.
Taco Skillet:
If you ever look at my monthly menu plans you will sometimes see that "Daddy Night" is listed as a dinner. Nights when I am at school my husband is in charge of cooking, but I want him to have an easy time so in the past we have cooked up some ground beef and chicken in large batches and had it frozen, then all he had to do was add it to a hamburger helper type dinner and the meal was done! That worked well for us, but then I realized some of the ingredients that are in those mixes that I wanted to see if we could avoid more often, I decided to try to make my own.
There are many recipes out there if you are willing to start from scratch, but I was specifically looking for something shelf stable to imitate the boxed mixes so it filled the same function in our house. I found this set of recipes on Cheap Cooking they call for beef bullion but I have found you can't get one with out MSG and since that is an ingredient we are trying to avoid I have just left it out of my recipes(I may have to add a bit more salt during cooking to replace it).
Seasoning Mix (will make 4 "helpers"):
1 1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbs. garlic powder
2 Tbs. dried parsley
1/3 cup instant onion
3 Tbs. onion powder
1 Tbs. salt
1 2/3 cup dry milk
Mix this all up.
In each jar add:
2 cups noodles (elbow macaroni for example)
1/2 cup seasoning mixture
Then alter according to variation desired:
Cheeseburger skillet:
To Cook:
1 pound ground beef
2 cups water
Brown and drain the ground beef. Stir in the dry mix, 2 cups hot water and 2 cups noodles. You can add more or less water and noodles, proportionately, depending on much you need to stretch that pound of beef. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook until noodles are tender, about 20 minutes.
Then stir in 2 cups grated Cheddar or Colby cheese before serving.
Stroganoff:
Add 1/2 tsp of onion powder and 1/2 tsp celery salt with the dry mix.
To Cook:
1 pound ground beef
2 cups water
Brown and drain the ground beef. Stir in the dry mix, 2 cups hot water and 2 cups noodles.You can add more or less water and noodles, proportionately, depending on much you need to stretch that pound of beef. Then stir in a 1/2 cup fresh or canned mushrooms if you have them on hand. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook until noodles are tender, about 20 minutes.
After cooking noodles, stir in 1/4 cup sour cream just before serving.
Chili:
Add 1 Tbs chili powder to dry mix.
To cook:
1 pound ground beef
2 cups water
Brown and drain the ground beef. Stir in the dry mix, 2 cups hot water and 2 cups noodles. You can add more or less water and noodles, proportionately, depending on much you need to stretch that pound of beef. Add one 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook until noodles are tender, about 20 minutes.
Stir in 2 cups grated Cheddar or Colby cheese before serving.
My family loves the taco skillet version so I tried to create one using the same philosophy as the recipe above and a homemade taco seasoning from Recipe Zar.
Taco Skillet:
4 teaspoons instant onion, Minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried red pepper, Crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon instant garlic, Minced
1 teaspoon cumin, Ground
1/3 cup dried milk
1 cup rice
Brown and drain the ground beef. Stir in the dry mix, 2 cups hot water and 1 cups rice. You can add more or less water and rice, proportionately, depending on much you need to stretch that pound of beef. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook until done, about 20 minutes.
Then sprinkle with 1 cup grated Cheddar or Colby cheese and tortilla chips before serving.
I will let you know how they turn out!
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