As a kid, I remember eating things like Hamburger Helper (or Tuna Helper *cringe*) on the regular. This MSG, hydrolyzed corn protein, and enriched wheat with folic acid infused one-pan meal was a staple of the 80s and my friends and I would bemoan its existence over equally processed school lunches (obviously, I had not been taught my own food rules to cure picky eating at that point!).
As the saying goes, “when you know better, you do better,” and I can honestly say I’ve never purchased a Hamburger Helper or any other variety. That said, I can understand the appeal!
A meal that comes together in 20 minutes and only needs one pound of meat?
Yes please!
A 20-Minute Real Food One-Pan Meal
Hamburger Helper certainly did have one thing right… the convenience!
In fact, I’m sure its low price and extremely simple preparation were some of the major reasons it gained so much popularity (the taste… not so much!).
With a few simple and equally inexpensive real-food ingredients, you can replace the pre-packaged one-pan meals with more nutritious options. Certainly, you could use organic, gluten-free noodles or shirataki noodles, in place of the regular noodles in these types of one-pan meals, but this recipe is perfect for using various types of vegetable noodles.
Turn Vegetables Into Noodles…
I often use our spiralizer to slice zucchini into thin noodles for this recipe (if you don’t have a spirazlier- get one! they do magic tricks in getting kids to love making and eating vegetables!)
Another benefit to this recipe is how easy and fast it is to prepare. My kids love that they can help prepare this recipe (and the older kids can now prepare this all on their own without my help!).
This simple stir-fry is a regular in our meal planning rotation and is also my go-to for busy nights when I don’t have anything else ready to cook.
Variations:
Zucchini is our favorite vegetable in this recipe but you can use any vegetable you have on hand. Some that readers have used and loved: carrots, yellow squash, kohlrabi, or sweet potatoes.
You can also make mix it up with a variety of spices for completely different flavors. Some of our favorites are:
- 2 teaspoons cumin and 1 teaspoon of chili powder. Top with salsa, sour cream, and cheese for a Tex-Mex flavor.
- Add some Italian Seasoning and a can of diced tomatoes. Top with Parmesan for an Italian flair.
- Use curry powder in place of the spices listed and add a little coconut milk for a deep and earthy flavor.
- Try toasted sesame oil in place of the butter, add some extra garlic, and top with coconut aminos (similar to soy sauce) for an egg-roll like flavor.
Our favorite beef and zucchini stir-fry recipe…
Beef and Zucchini Skillet Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 onions
- 4 medium zucchini
- 3 TBSP butter (or olive oil)
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp adobo seasoning (or make your own)
- 1 tsp dried basil
- toppings (such as pasta sauce, Parmesan cheese, and grated cheese, optional)
Instructions
- Thinly slice onions and use a spiralizer or peeler to make zucchini noodles.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat.
- Melt butter in skillet.
- Add the sliced onion and zucchini to the skillet and saute until they are starting to soften.
- Remove vegetables from the skillet and place in a baking dish.
- Turn oven on to broil and place the baking dish under the broiler for about 7-10 minutes until vegetables are desired crispness.
- While cooking, brown the ground beef in the skillet and add the spices.
- Add the onions and zucchini back to the skillet, mix, and serve.
- Top with any desired toppings and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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What is your favorite stir-fry recipe? Share below!
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Made this tonight – the first of your recipes I’ve tried and it was so good! Exactly what I was craving, super easy and fast. I used a TB of both chili and cumin powder and threw in some pickled jalapeños (I live in TX so bear with me). Served with hot sauce and a Dollop of sour cream. I’m seriously looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow.
We tried this tonight, but left out the Italian herbs and used chilli powder instead. It was a huge hit with my 4 kids! Thanks for sharing!
Just made this last night and it was delicious! We all had the leftovers for lunch today. My boys requested it 🙂
Love, love, love your recipe’s Cooking Mama!
Thank you!!!
I made this today for the first time — halved the amount of meat and butter, everything else the same, topped with a dollop of tomato paste — excellent! Hamburger Helper never tasted this good! I’m so glad I found your site — Thank you!
I made this for lunch today, and my four year old loved it! I added in some mushrooms while sauteing the beef and garlic. When I combined all the ingredients I sprinkled cheddar cheese on top and broiled it. Very yummy dish!
my husband and I both really enjoyed this! I added some diced tomatoes and green chili’s (as I didn’t have crushed red pepper) – it was nice to find something my husband would eat with ground beef!!
This was pretty good, and I put some of the leftovers in my eggs the next day. I didn’t get the spices quite right, but that’s easily fixed.
I am so thankful for yours and others websites. Learning to recook is hard enough wirhout blatching it and wasting food or eating as is.
This was so great! I made it like you said and just topped it with parm cheese. It’s so good, I’ll add it to my weekly rotation. Thanks for this one!