Hamburger Helper has been an easy fix to most families weeknight dinner. Add a box of noodles, seasoning packet and beef, chicken or tuna and your meal is done. This meal wasn’t intended to turn out like a Hamburger Helper meal, I just simply had the ingredients in the pantry. If you wanted to change a few ingredients, you can make it into a pizza dish by adding pepperoni, olives, bell pepper and mushrooms.

Today in the kitchen, I’m going to share with you an easy way to make your own that will not only fit your grocery budget, but will give you leftovers for a future meal. You definitely will forget about buying that Hamburger Helper box at the grocery store once you learn how to make your own. This is another featured crock pot recipe this week at Noel’s Kitchen Tips using simple ingredients found in your pantry.

Crock Pot Hamburger Helper

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon taco seasoning
• 1 jar Meat flavored spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup Mostaccioli or Rigatoni noodles, cooked
• 2 cups  Colby/Jack cheese (Mozzarella can be used too)

Directions:

1. In a small stockpot, boil water to cook noodles. Cook noodles 10-12 minutes or until tender. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat brown ground beef and onion until beef is no longer pink. Add taco seasoning and stir until well combined. Drain any excess fat from beef mixture.
3. Layer ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low setting for 5 hours.
4.  Serve with bread rolls and salad.