So, I'm in the store with My Youngest the other day, picking up the items we need for the next week's meals. He begins to describe his "Dream Meal" to me. "It's these cheesy noodles, Mom, they're SOOOO cheesy, and there's all this hamburger mixed in .... If I could have that - it would be my Dream Meal!" I suggest that his description sounds like Hamburger Helper. "YEAH! That's what it's called!" Thank you, Prime Time Advertisers. I'll spare you the description that I endured of the pan that appears in someone's car along with a talking glove. You're welcome.
Thinking that I can easily make this dream come true, we head over to the aisle of box dinners and find the boy's dream meal box. He is so excited as I get some fittingly fatty hamburger to go with it - Go Big or Go Home, right??? As I'm preparing this meal, that same night, he hovers around me, anxiously waiting. Snickering as I stir, I'm thinking this is a big joke I'm playing on the Men, right? How could they possibly like this, of course they won't, when I've raised them on healthy meals? I don't even fix a salad to go with the Hamburger Helper Double Cheeseburger meal, keeping with the theme, after all. Just big piles of meat, processed cheese powder, and noodles. There!
You already know how this is going, don't you?! Never in all my life as a mom have I had such a joyous reception to any meal - ever. Each of them made exclamations of wonder and grunts of manly satisfaction as their heaps of Helper disappeared. Open-mouthed, I watched them snorf it down, stuttering as My Oldest requested Helper, this exact flavor and none other, at least once a week, complimenting me over and over on the yummy deliciousness of the meal. (My description, not his, of course.) There was a heated battle the next day over the (very) small container of refrigerated leftovers. Another first for me. Go figure.
Yes, I've made it again for them. With leaner meat this time. And a salad. But I'm much too weak a woman to resist all the happy faces around me at dinner when I serve the Helper. Sad but true.
I'm just a
hahahaahhaaha
ReplyDeleteWhat is the deal with men and Hamburger Helper? When Ben goes to the store to pick something up on his way home or if he comes along with me to do our regular shopping, he always manages to sneak in a pile of Hamburger Helper boxes. And he loves the stuff! So do my kids! It's like they don't even notice that on most nights, they're eating homemade bread and soup that I've been chopping ingredients for all day .. etc. I can totally relate to this post. The same thing happens around here with boxed mac and cheese. But the homemade variety? Grumbles and LOTS of leftovers.
ReplyDeleteHey, Melissa - this week's box ..... only $.89! Glad to know you share my pain. You must have a lot more pain, though, since you ARE one of the Kitchen Divas that I admire!
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, for our family, cheeseburger macaroni Hamburger Helper is considered a comfort food. We have it about once every couple of weeks. There are rarely left-overs and where there are, my husband snorfs (using your great descriptive word) them down in the middle of the night! I consider myself pretty thrify and cook all our meals at home. We never eat out anymore due to the cost. I am actually pretty grateful for Hamburger Helper because it's cheap (as mentioned) and it is filling and doesn't require a lot of time or ingredients. Bear in mind you can sass it up with things like canned tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, bell pepper chopped, extra cheese, etc.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a perfect dinner to me, too!!!
ReplyDeleteROTFLMBO!!! Isn't that the way of it though? They would rather eat junky stuff than real stuff! I wonder if you were to try to make a more 'natural' cheesy hamburger pasta meal, if they would like it as much? Hmmm... ;-)
ReplyDeleteI guess men and women are so different so that when God puts us together there is a balance. Salad and Hamburger Helper - both sides of the equation! I've got all guys too, so I understand. I had the hardest time convincing my husband that veggies really do go with "the good" food! I don't think my sons ever believed it.
ReplyDeleteOh my - from the descriptions of the other women, I need to be careful lest my family should either watch tv or discover HH on their own. I had it once in college, but haven't served it to the fam. Sounds like it's only a matter of time though. I'm not much better though - I like Pasta Roni.
ReplyDeleteOver thirty years ago I had HH for dinner and two hours later I was in the emergency room with kidney stones. (Passing a stone was worse than labor pains in my opinion) I can't seperate the two things (HH and kidney stones) so I just can't eat it. But my family can. That cheeseburger one is their favorite too! We throw some frozen peas into ours...somehow that little bit of green has always made be feel better about feeding it to them. : )
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