Bigdaddyjug wrote:
When I was a broke "dropped out of college before going back and finishing" waiter, and living with some friends, we made up something we called insta-meal.
1 box of kraft macaroni and cheese
1 lb of ground beef
1 packet of taco seasoning mix
cook the mac and cheese according to the box directions; sautee the meat, drain the fat, and add the seasoning mix until combined; combine mac and ceese with taco meat for homemade hamburger helper that tastes WAY better than the boxed sh*t.
1 box of kraft macaroni and cheese
1 lb of ground beef
1 packet of taco seasoning mix
cook the mac and cheese according to the box directions; sautee the meat, drain the fat, and add the seasoning mix until combined; combine mac and ceese with taco meat for homemade hamburger helper that tastes WAY better than the boxed sh*t.
Can't beat boxed mac and cheese for price, but if you're not quite that strapped for cash, you can make the mac and cheese pretty easily (or with more difficulty depending on how fancy you want to be). This is another area where a basic white sauce does the job. Butter melted in saucepan, add flour and whisk until it turns into a paste (but before it browns!), add milk and stir until thickened and bubbly. Depending on the end result you're going for you may add other stuff, but for a simple cheese sauce, just add grated cheese of whatever variety you like. Done. Stir into cooked elbow macaroni in casserole dish and bake (350 for 30 minutes). More work and more cost, but even this simple of a recipe will taste better than the boxed stuff (and be a hell of a lot better for you. Minimizing anything processed is a good idea).
Add in the other stuff if you want as well. Maybe not "insta-meal", but still not too much time to make (most of which is you sitting around while it bakes).