Philly Cheesesteak Hamburger Helper with Original Smart Ground

I have often been haunted by Hamburger Helper commercials.  Everything just looked to good, and easy to make when I want to pretend I'm cooking, when really you can't call that cooking.  I would think "oh I can just make the box without adding the hamburger meat." Then I would just have...pasta?  I was determined to make a Hamburger Helper (since, as you know, I like to pretend I am an All-American meat-eater haha).



Ok, Philly Chesesteak..pasta.  I don't really get it. But I did finally decide how I was going to make my Hamburger Helper like the real thing.



Lightlife Smart Ground in the Original flavor. LOVE this stuff! My mom makes me meat loaf, meat sauce, and nachos with it.  Its looks and crumbles just like real ground beef and tastes great!  Lightlife also makes the Smart Ground in other variations, and also other meats like chicken strips.  So far I have only had the Smart Ground, but I am excited to try the other kinds, and of course tell you all about it!



I got all my things needed to make this Hamburger Helper, vegetarian style.  Everything you need, and all the instructions are on the back of the box.  Then it was time to get to work.



First add in your Smart Ground crumbles.  I used 2 packages for one box of Hamburger Helper.  Here is the one BIG difference when cooking with these instead of real meat. The box tells you to cook the meat on the pot for a while, since the meat will be raw.  With the Smart Ground, it is already cooked, so you just need to heat it up on the stove for a couple minutes before you continue to the next steps.  Don't cook it for as long as the Hamburger Helper box says or else it will try out.  You also don't have to cook it as long as the Smart Ground box suggests, because they are assuming you are going to eat it right away.  The crumbles will sit on the stove while the pasta cooks, so it will be completely cooked once everything is done.



Then add the milk. You can try soy milk if you'd like, I haven't done it, but It might be ok.



Then add the pasta and flavor packet.

Mix it all up, and let it simmer based on the instructions.  Every Hamburger Helper is different.  So depending on the one you get you might have to mix in different ingredients, and cooking times might vary.

I love how easy it is to make, and you get a pretty large amount, about 3 meals worth. I thought it tasted really good.  It was nice and cheesy, and you could taste the flavor of the Smart Ground.  I added some dried hot peppers, because It definitely needed something to spice it up!





Have you had Hamburger Helper before? What is your favorite flavor? Are you going to make it vegetarian next time?

Bye from the Veggie Side!