The Joys of Hamburger Helper

I have a confession...I used to be a Hamburger Helper snob!

I'm not sure why. It wasn't that I looked down on it as a meal. I think part of it was growing up and remembering how often we had noodles and meat, so the thought of it as an adult wasn't appealing. Another part of it was the preparation. Up until recently, I've never felt comfortable in a kitchen, and even now I'm still finding my feet. But it always seemed like such a pain to have to brown the meat and mix everything (I know, right? That's pretty lazy of me).

Cooking dinner tonight, which was Hamburger Helper (Three Cheese if anyone was wondering), I felt silly for being so snooty about it. HH is a really cheap, pretty tasty, easily made dinner for people who are aiming to save money. It comes in a ton of different flavors and when you get sick of hamburger, you can fall back on Tuna Helper and Chicken Helper.

Some nifty things about Helper meals:

1. Low Cost of Item - The brand name starts at about $1.50 depending on the area you live in, but it seems to be one of those items that goes on sale alot. Look for local sales on HH. The most common one brings the price to about a buck a box, so stock up when you find them to keep around for an easy dinner. If you want to go generic, there's many off-brands of this type of meal, though you might not get the same variety.

2. Budgeting for the meat - The thing that's going to drive an HH meal up is going to be the meat which has gotten more expensive over the past few years. Depending on the type of hamburger you buy, it can get really expensive. We opt to buy the cheapest/easiest we can find which is the small pound tubes of it at WalMart for $2.12 (plus tax). We're currently working with limited freezer space so these one shot servings work best, though if you can find bigger packages at a lower per lb price, buy up, divvy the meat into storage bags, and freeze away. Also remember to drain the grease too as the cheaper hamburger will produce alot of it.

Chicken breasts for CH are a little pricier and take more preparation but not much. If you really want to save time, buy the canned chicken. TH is probably the cheapest as you can get a can of tuna for less than a buck. A Helper meal covers your meat and grains, so adding a cheap veggie and a glass of milk can help cover some of the others.

3. Not a health food, but... - Hamburger Helper is a little higher in calories and fat than alot of foods, but if you're trying to save money you can still compromise. For a slightly higher cost you can buy a leaner cut of hamburger, or you can buy ground turkey instead. I haven't bought ground turkey in a long time, but last I remember, it's actually cheaper than hamburger but gives a similar taste and is much healthier. Substitute "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" for butter/margarine and use skim milk for the mix.

Portion size is also something you can control and can make your meals cheaper. Check the box to see how many it will serve, especially if you're cooking for two or just yourself. Divvy the portions up accordingly. This isn't always easy with families, as different people eat different amounts, but you can try it a couple of ways. After separating it out for one meal, decide if you want to further multiply it. A single person can get two large meals or four small meals out of one box. Two people can one or two meals, etc. The more meals you can get out of one box, the cheaper each meal becomes. Keeping that in mind will also help you stay on track with healthy portions.

The BF and I were lucky enough to have acquired three boxes of HH from a friend who was moving so our meal was a bit cheaper. But taking into account the regular price of HH from WalMart, the meal breaks down into the following:

HH = $1.50
1 lb Hamburger = $2.12
Milk = negligible, but estimated at about $.50.
Total = $4.12

We opted for no sides and we didn't go the healthy route on this, deciding on a big dinner after a long day of work. Therefore, this meal came to $2.06 per person.

Temporary Shoe Fix

This one actually comes courtesy of my BF and is something I never really thought about doing. It's a good idea if your shoes are in rough shape and you don't have the money right away to get a pair of new ones.

Cheap insoles can be found at the store. At Wal-Mart, you can get a really cheap, standard pair for less than a dollar. Depending on your preferences and how much you have to spend, you may want to spend a little more, but we're going really cheap these days.

Find some heavy cardboard and super glue the insoles to it. Then cut around the shape, cut to size, and fit into your shoes. The cardboard reinforces the insole and covers over any areas where the rubber sole may have started to come through.

This is not a permanent fix. If your shoes are in bad shape, they can cause foot and back problems if you continue to walk on them. However, if you just need something to tide you over until you can get to Payless (or find a cheap pair at a thrift store or garage sale), this is a good solution.

Wal-Mart Shopping

Wal-Mart is a little pricier than stores like Aldi and Sav-A-Lot, but they have a good selection and you can still find some pretty cheap finds if you hunt for it. On our latest WM shopping trip, the BF and I did everything we could to spend the least amount of money and get the most meals out of it.

Bar-S Hot Dogs are only 67 cents for a package of 8. Many people don't like hot dogs at all, and if they do eat them, they have to be beef. If you're like me and don't care, you can make these last for a couple of meals. We paired a pack of them with a loaf of GV bread ($0.96) and some mustard which we already had. Pringles are a dollar per can, so we bought two. This gave us a dinner and a lunch. We also picked up two cans of GV tuna fish (0.56 each) and two GV Cheesy Pasta dinners (like Tuna Helper but semi-generic) for 96 cents each. That's two more meals, four if we halve each one.

We splurged a little on a pack of 98 cent GV cookies. The most we spent was $1.88 for a canister of GV sugar free drink mix. Though we spent over a dollar on it, it's actually the best deal. You get 6 tubs of mix in a canister, and each makes 2 quarts of drink. Since it's sugar free, it's already flavored, so we saved by not having to buy sugar. Once we figured it out, we found it was the healthier and cheaper option.

The total cost for four meals for two people, including dessert and drink: $10.23.

Not too shabby.

Chicken Parmesan Dinner

The BF and I are having to be really careful with what we buy and what we eat, so for dinner last night, we decided to go with chicken parmesan. I love this meal because it can be swanky or cheap and it seems to taste good either way. We did our shopping at WalMart and I've included the prices to show the cost of the two meals we're getting out of the supplies.

DelMonte Four Cheese Spagetti sauce ($0.92)
Great Value Spagetti (small box, enough for two servings) ($0.58)
Value Chicken Tenders (meat section, four servings of 3 chicken tenders each) ($2.50)
WalMart Bakery Rosemary French Loaf ($1.33)
Sam's Choice Ginger Ale 2 Liter ($.068)

After thinking about it, I think we could have found frozen chicken tenders in the freezer section, so check into it. Both meals were basic.

Chicken Parmesan
Cook spaghetti according to box directions (this amount will serve 2 people perfectly)
Place 6 tenders on a plate and microwave for 1.5 minutes
Slice desired amount of bread for those eating, saving at least half a loaf for the next meal
Once spaghetti is cooked, drain and pour in half a can of sauce. Mix and serve over chicken tenders with bread on side.

Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches
Same meal minus the noodles. Place leftover sauce in a bowl for dipping or pour over remaining chicken tenders laid out on remaining bread.

Just a hint, we had some olive oil and balsamic vinegar at hand so we put a little bit in small bowls and dipped the bread in for a more italian restaurant feel. However, the bread at WalMart is really good and can be eaten plain. This loaf of bread can actually be stretched into three meals...we just really love bread.

For less than $7, two people had two meals, which is definitely a good step from fast food where you get a small (unhealthy) meal for close to that for one person.