I have been dreading dinner tonight since I went to H-E-B last Friday. One of the items on the list was 1 ready-made dinner (Hamburger Helper.) Oh, please no.The thing is, I knew it was coming before we got the list. I've sorted enough food at the Food Bank to know that a lot of prepared meals come through the doors. I just didn't think I'd be cooking one.
Don't get me wrong - I've eaten plenty of Hamburger Helper in my day. I was raised by a single mom with two kids and things like Hamburger Helper and frozen meals played a big part in getting food on the table every night. As a matter of fact, when I was old enough, I helped cook those meals.But, as with many things in life, I've learned there was a better way and I can't remember when I last bought a prepared meal. Until this week. I considered not cooking it or not using the flavor packet (the most offending part of the meal since it contains the preservatives and MSG), but that would have been outside the spirit of what I wanted to do this week so I sucked it up and cooked it. Oh, the things I do for the Food Bank and this blog.
I did change it up a bit. First, I bought the Creamy Chicken and Noodles Chicken Helper. I thought it might be tastier and I knew I could get more mileage out of a whole chicken than hamburger.
Second, I used cooked chicken. Like several other bloggers, to get the most out of the whole chicken I bought, I roasted it and then used the carcass to make stock. I used about half of the cooked meat tonight for the Chicken Helper.
Third, I added veggies and herbs. I added a head of broccoli and 1/4 pound of mushrooms that I'd forgotten about in the bottom of the produce drawer. At the end of the dish, I added some fresh parsley.
It wasn't awful. It wasn't good, but it was ok. The extra vegetables and parsley made a HUGE difference. The picture on the packet makes it look like there are vegetables in the mix. There are a few dehydrated vegetables in the pasta packet, but even after cooking they were hard and crunchy. If I had to cook it again, I'd just take those out. Following is the cost for tonight's dinner which also included another green salad with radishes:
$3.00 1/2 of a chicken
$1.50 1 box chicken helper
$ .75 2 cups milk
$1.25 1/4 lb of mushrooms
$1.00 1 head of broccoli
$ .80 1 serving of mixed lettuce
$ .67 1/3 radishes from bunch
$8.97 Total
The meal made four servings, just like last night, and the cost was almost the same. Again, if you added the cost for salad for 3 more people, the price would be about $13.50. So, the prepared food was as expensive as last night's terrific dinner and it didn't taste as good. Food for thought.
I'm grateful that I don't have to eat Chicken Helper any more (except for the leftovers of course, because I refuse to just waste it) and would love to help end hunger so that no one else has to eat it either. If you'd like to help me, please click on the Capital Area Food Bank badge at the top of the blog and donate to the Capital Area Food Bank.
