"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> On 7/16/2014 12:08 PM, Ophelia wrote:
>>
>>
>> "jmcquown" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> On 7/16/2014 8:02 AM, Ophelia wrote:
>>>> I am sure someone told me once what 'hamburger helper' is but if they
>>>> did it
>>>> escapes me. If it contains noodles, is it a 'side' dish? Would
>>>> someone
>>>> be so kind as to tell me what it is, please? I always thought it was
>>>> some kind of filler, to bulk out the meat.
>>>
>>> It is a main dish meal cooked in a skillet on the stovetop. Brown the
>>> minced beef, add water and a packet (the taste varies depending which
>>> one
>>> you bought) to make the sauce. Cover, simmer.
>>>
>>
>> Thanks but of what is the packet comprised?? I read something about
>> noodle.
>>
> Sorry. You brown and drain the beef, add the noodles which come in the
> box, then add water and the seasoning packet. The seasoning varies
> depending on which one you bought. God only knows what's in that packet
> of powdered seasoning but you can bet it's mostly chemical:
>
> http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/helper
>
> Jill

You really have chemical issues! Here are the ingredients in the
Stroganoff:

Enriched Pasta (wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate,
riboflavin, folic acid), Corn Starch, Salt, Enriched Flour (wheat flour,
niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Modified Whey,
Monosodium Glutamate, Cream, Tomato*, Potassium Chloride, Sugar, Artificial
Color, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (corn, wheat, soy), Lactic Acid, Yeast
Extract, Natural Flavor, Calcium Lactate, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean
Oil, Citric Acid, Monoglycerides, Onion*, Parsley*, Spice, Beef Stock,
Silicon Dioxide (anticaking agent), Mushroom*, Corn Syrup*, Soy Lecithin,
Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate, Beef Fat, Soy Sauce* (wheat,
soybeans, salt), Garlic*.*Dried


Now this is not something that you could ever pay me to eat because I
despise Stroganoff. But it doesn't really seem to have ingredients that
other convenience foods do not. Such as some canned chili or soups.

This is the Cheeseburger Mac which is what I ate a lot of as a teen because
I didn't have a lot of choice. It was dinner, I had to make it but at least
I got to choose the kind of Hamburger Helper that we ate. Sometimes I just
put my foot down and insisted that I was making something else. From
scratch. But my mom who actually claimed to be into health food and made
her own seemingly random rules for things could not see the sense in cooking
from scratch when you could just buy stuff like this. She was also big in
the Chun King Chinese products. She has tasted the Chinese food that I make
from scratch and has tasted what I order in Chinese restaurants. What I
make is every bit as good as theirs. She does not care for that food and
instead will order the typical whatever number it is that comes with the
soup BBQed pork. That was the only Chinese food we ever had growing up and
I was led to believe that I hated Chinese food. Only after I ate the real
stuff in the International district did I realize that I actually did like
some of it. Only some. But I digress. On with the ingredients:

Enriched Macaroni (wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin
mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Corn Starch, Salt, Enriched Flour
(wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid),
Sugar, Ricotta Cheese* (whey, milkfat, lactic acid, salt), Tomato*,
Monosodium Glutamate, Maltodextrin, Citric Acid, Partially Hydrogenated
Soybean Oil, Modified Corn Starch, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Paprika,
Spice, Color (yellow lakes 5 & 6, yellows 5 & 6), Mono and Diglycerides,
Cheddar Cheese* (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Yeast Extract,
Enzyme Modified Blue Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Cream,
Whey, Enzyme Modified Cheddar Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes),
Butter Oil, Nonfat Milk, Blue Cheese* (milk, salt, cheese cultures,
enzymes), Sodium Caseinate, Silicon Dioxide (anticaking agent), Sodium
Phosphate, Sodium Citrate, Calcium Caseinate, Enzymes.*Dried

And here are the ingredients in Kraft Mac and Cheese:

Ingredients: ENRICHED MACARONI PRODUCT (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE
[IRON], THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC
ACID); CHEESE SAUCE MIX (WHEY, MILKFAT, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SALT,
SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF CITRIC ACID, LACTIC ACID,
SODIUM PHOSPHATE, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, YELLOW 5, YELLOW

To me, you can get similar but cheaper results from just making any boxed
mac and cheese and adding ground beef to it. But I see that there is tomato
in the HH so perhaps you could just add a squirt of ketchup or tomato sauce.

My only real issues with the ingredients might be the partially hydrogenated
soybean oil. There's no excuse for that. The vegetable protein and perhaps
the MSG. From what I've read about MSG it is only a problem for some
people. But it may well be why some people like this stuff. It makes food
taste better.

After my friend and I found some MSG in our cupboard, we began doing
experiments with it. We added it to snacks and meals served to our families
and they really did like the food better when the MSG was added. Now why my
mom had it? Dunno.