You had sawdust? Sheer Luxury! We used to dream of sawdust for dinner, before our thrashing and then off to bed which 10 us shared.
Posted on 09/20/2025 2:37:42 PM PDT by Trump20162020
In the 1970s, Hamburger Helper became a staple on American dinner tables as families, strained by inflation and soaring beef prices, looked to turn a pound of ground beef into an entire meal.
These days, those same pressures are why the flavored pasta mix is coming to the rescue again.
While most food companies are seeing declines in consumer demand for their products, sales of Hamburger Helper are up 14.5 percent in the year through August, getting an extra bump from its appearance on an episode of “The Bear” in June, according to the company that owns the brand, Eagle Foods.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Almost gave up ground beef, use pork now since it is under half the price.
Red Beans and Rice
Spicy pork sausage (or if you are really hard up, turkey breakfast sausage)
Diced Carrot
Diced Onion
Chopped celery
Green pepper or hot pepper if you have one
Garlic, thyme, rosemary, black pepper, salt
Bay leaves
Brown the sausage lightly.
Saute’ vegetables and herbs in a little olive oil and add to the sausage, continue to brown it a bit more.
Add chicken broth (leftover pan drippings from the last baked chicken you had, or broth made from the boiled carcass).
Add precooked or canned beans, heat to boiling then simmer.
Serve over
4 Cups Cooked rice with extra hot sauce. If you need to stretch it just add more beans and rice.
LOL!
My dog sleeps through football games. :(
But your dog is a sleeping goldmine of data which could allow you both to be sleeping in a lavish mansion with your winnings. Minus taxes.
welcome to 1979
That’s what the wife and I lived on after we got married and I was still in school. It was really all we could afford. It, a bag of potato chips and a 2 liter bottle of Coke. I actually like it. Ate some a couple of weeks ago. Cheeseburger Macaroni. It brings back good memories.
Hard to believe the NYT would scrape together this Pulitzer-worthy expose’./s
We still eat HH once in a while, but we make casseroles more often. Meat + starch + veggies, can of Cream of Whatever, spices to taste, cheese on top and 60 minutes at 375. Practically infinite variations, some better than others.
Unbelievable that it took 35 posts to get to the real point of this propaganda article. Never such a mention about hamburger helper when Biden ignited inflation.
Just you wait, it won’t be long before we see the stories of overwrought seniors weeping and saying they are having to choose between eating or buying their life-saving medication. Or maybe grandma having to buy dog food just to survive.
Rrrrrrubber biscuitttt…
I use HH occasionally … it’s a quick easy meal. And back in the day my kids loved it. I wouldn’t make it an every day meal mind you…
Now Tuna Helper - that’s where I draw the line. No way!
They hide these stories when Biden was in office, now they run them when Trump is in. Trying to tie it to the guy they don’t like, after giving cover to the guy they liked.
They really deliberately downplayed the food supply issues and economics of food prices under Biden. Same with gas.
LOL! We wouldn’t know what to DO with ourselves living, ‘The Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous!’
We’re both just simple Country Bumpkins. ;)
You had sawdust? Sheer Luxury! We used to dream of sawdust for dinner, before our thrashing and then off to bed which 10 us shared.
The Velveeta brand is off the charts if you must use something to enhance hamburger.
I highly recommend the Beef Stroganoff.
OR, for tuna casserole, make a box of Mac and cheese, add a can of drained white tuna, a drained can of peas, a can of cream of mushroom and one cup of milk. Simmer on the stove until bubbly.
That stuff is terrible, has been since the early 2000’s when they screwed up my favorite kind. Can’t remember what it was for the life of me now, but I’ve never bought it since.
The hamburger is about the HEALTHIEST food one can eat (a good ratio of protein to fat, and NO CARBS!), but throw out the “Helper”, as that is poison.
What a load of hooey. That junk is expensive, and it is unhealthy.
"Hamburger Helper helps your hamburger...help her."
Which couldn't be used today for the sexist connotation. But it was catchy.
I loved the stuff before they started overloading it with salt. Then a low-sodium version showed they did that to conceal lower quality ingredients. Add HH to those "Your Childhood Ruined" books category.
But it’s all good. After all, the lowered the interest rate by 0.25%.
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