Hamburger Helper, et. al.

[Smarmotron]

Just wondering if anyone ever uses the various "Helpers" out there - Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, Chicken Helper, etc. I was served the "Cheeseburger" Hamburger Helper today, and found it vile.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Well, now that you ask, sure, I have used Alpo Helper but far prefer the stuff au naturel ...

[foodie52]

Too much salt in those....

[Pickles]

I was served the "Cheeseburger" Hamburger Helper today, and found it vile.

Tried it once. Never again. There's "cheese sauce" that you're supposed to pour onto one of the lasagna flavors..and it looks like....it looks just like...I can't say what it looks like in polite company.

[Suzanne F]

Hamburger Helper, eh? Isn't that the afterschool job that kids get, you know, flipping them?

[KateW]

Tried it once. Never again. There's "cheese sauce" that you're supposed to pour onto one of the lasagna flavors..and it looks like....it looks just like...I can't say what it looks like in polite company.

Ahahahaha I know exactly what you mean. I used to make these for my boyfriend and I but I discovered (gasp) you could make REAL lasagna, or chicken and whatever sauce and it would be cheaper, and healthier. I still have a couple "Helpers" sitting in my cupboard but I don't see myself using them anytime soon.

[Pumpkin Lover]

Aw man. I just made Cheeseburger Helper last week--my family had gotten a box and wanted to try it. I thought it was, like, Kraft Super Mac and Cheese. I loved it.

[Pickles]

It's so SALTY!! And...it...it has no TASTE! It really has no taste (to me) other than salt, and chemicals. And ground beef. Which lately tastes like ground up wallets to me. There are just no herb flavors in HH. And we all know how these packaged travesties rely on ONION POWDER. Oooooook...do I HATE onion powder. I can smell it a mile away. Someone I know recently served a Family Sized Stouffers Veg Lasagna at a party and I could smell that mutha cooking clear across the driveway. I can't be around anyone eating Doritos due to the smell.

[Yuki]

Never tried them........and not intended to do so anytime soon.

Are they just like pasta/rice with some kind of flavorings/sauce and all you do is add proteins into it?

[Pickles]

Are they just like pasta/rice with some kind of flavorings/sauce and all you do is add proteins into it?

Yes Yuki, that's about it. Add water. Wish for real food.

[Painting]

I have to admit, i'm addicted to Tuna Helper's "creamy pasta", maybe it's because I refuse to eat any sort of hamburger sandwitchs, i'm cursed with this afflection but I admit it here today, on eG, that yes, i love Tuna Helper "creamy pasta" (but i can't stand the rest of the "flavors", they are vile)

[Toasted]

A friend of mine a very frugal friend, ok she's cheap as hell, feeds her family the "helper" without the add in of the meat or tuna. Her kids love it.

[chickenlady]

I used to cat-sit for a woman who worked for General Mills, maker of such fine products as Hamburger Helper, slice-and-bake cookies, toaster scrambles, and no-bake cheesecake kits. As a token of her gratitude, every Christmas she would give me a huge box full of their products, plus a Wheaties t-shirt, if I was lucky. Being my frugal self, I felt the need to prepare and consume many of these items. (Although I never did make that cheesecake--after 6 years in the pantry and a coast-to-coast move, I finally threw it out. Damn! It was probably a collector's item!) My husband would always get so thrilled about Hamburger Helper night. A dinner of <insert your ideal, most delicious meal here> would not generate anywhere near the level of excitement. I figure it's because we eat good food regularly, that the bad attains a certain glamour. Of course, this is the same man who used to steal Spam from my parents pantry whenever they went on vacation, so I may need to rethink my hypothesis.

[WoodleyGrrl]

The various "helpers" were used by my mother growing up quite a few times.

You know, when you are poor you can't have steak and fresh veggies for dinner everyday.

[ellencho]

I actually like the "Helper" product line. Granted, I've only had the hamburger ones but you've got to doctor them up. I saute my ground beef with onions, and usually add half a bag of frozen veggies. And you must not forget hotsauce!

When I was a poor, anemic (my reason for eating ground meat) graduate student, I'd make a 'lunch of the week' so that I wouldn't have to waste money at the cafteria, and oftentimes it would be Hamburger Helper and a big bottle of hotsauce.

[bleachboy]

I grew up eating Hamburger Helper "rice oriental" probably once every week or two and, I'm afraid to say, developed a taste for it. It's like rice and ground beef with brown gravy. I don't see the "oriental" -- at all. I have never fixed it myself, but I would eat some if you served it to me. Probably out of habit.

My mom fixed some flavor of Tuna Helper as well and I always found it unspeakably vile. *shudder*

[sparrowgrass]

We were never allowed to have Hamburger Helper. My dad sold conveyer belts to the factory, and he said HH ate up belts faster than any other product. He said if he wanted to eat rubber, he would just cut up some belts and boil them without the HH.

[Chris Cognac]

I love Helper...except the tuna one....nasty...I always put soem veggie and extra's into the mix...Just use the helper as a base...works great...also good with ground chicken and turkey too!

[flip6577]

I am ashamed to admit that I find the HH Stroganoff to be quite tasty. However much doctoring is required. First I Saute onions with the beef. Then add a can of mushrooms. Finally I toss the "Sour Cream Topping" and opt for a small container of the real stuff. Now that I have disgusted most of you with my love of HH, I must say that all varieties of Tuna Helper are vile.

Flip

[Bicycle Lee]

Within city limits I refuse to touch the stuff...but tuna helper is a good backpacking meal...you'd be amazed how great that stuff tastes when you are 30 or 40 miles from the nearest town...

[FistFullaRoux]

I do like some of the varieties. I don't eat them often (anymore) but the Cheesburger Macaroni and the Cheesy Hashbrowns are the better ones, they just require a little modification.

I make the cheeseburger one according to the recipe, but I also add a generous handful or two of some decent cheese near the end of cooking. Works fine that way. The hashbrowns are made according to directions, but I make my own cheese sauce to put over top of them. Recently I've started using Alton Brown's cheese sauce recipe from his baked mac and cheese episode. Works great served over browned potato particles...

The chicken helper is pure turn-your-face-green-and-make-little-gaggin-sounds. Tuna helper is far easier to make from scratch than the box.

edetid fer spellin

Edited June 14, 2004 by FistFullaRoux (log)

[Pumpkin Lover]

I figure it's because we eat good food regularly, that the bad attains a certain glamour.

That's basically why I like this type of food. I ate rice and curry and good veggies and all that every day of my childhood, and while my health is pretty great because of that kind of food, I still get a hankering for some good ol' salty-ass Kraft Mac and Cheese. It just can't be replicated. Except when I make Cheeseburger Helper! (which I will make again, when it comes on sale).

[morda]

Other than mac and cheese (Kraft or generic) once in a while, I don't eat much of this type of stuff. And I've never actually had Hamburger Helper (or any of its newer incarnations). But I have to admit that the advertising DOES work and occasionally I'm tempted to buy some meal kit. I'm always disappointed. Same with frozen dinners...I love the idea of just popping something in the nuker and eating in front of the TV, but they always leave me unsatisfied and hungry. Who said, "It tasted awful--and the portions were so small!"

Canned ravioli, on the other hand...I have a weakness for that. Chef Boyardee, of course.

[Painting]

I painted the American Foods factory in vacaville, ca (now renamed as International Foods)

It was kinda cool to see semi-tankers drive up with the "sauce" and see how they "cook" the food right in the can itself. As for eating it, i'll stick to my Tuna Helper, i don't care what you people say! ;-)

Edited June 16, 2004 by Painting (log)

[Milt]

I equate Hamburger Helper with a lot of fast food chains. It isn't bad food, it just isn't really good food. There are so many better and cheaper alternatives - like using ground meat, pasta, sauce and seasonings from a recipe.

We ate quite a bit of Helper type meals a few years ago. My wife (traditional as she is - felt she should work full time, do all the laundry and prepare all of the meals) finally had a year where she felt overwhelmed. She asked that we all help with the meal preparation. Our ten year old daughter prepared one evening meal per week, our fourteen year old son prepared one, I did two, my wife did two, and she and I went out on Friday nights - as we have done for years. Friday night started out as a way to be alone without the kids - just some time to ourselves. Now the little ones are twenty and twenty-four and we still eat out on Fridays. Anyway, the ten year old usually used a dinner shortcut like Hamburger Helper and it helped her gain confidence in the kitchen. She is an excellent cook today and those early responsibilities must have helped. I am proud to say that we have not had Hamburger Helper for several years now.