Hamburger Helper Recipe

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable

• 1 large yellow onion, diced into ½-inch pieces

• Salt and black pepper

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 pound ground beef

• 1 cup dry white wine (I've used rosé and red wine for this recipe too and works great, it don't matter!)

• 3 cups chicken stock or water (we use homemade chicken stock cuz we're freaks and do that)

• ¾ cup Half & half

• ¼ cup hot sauce (Valentina is my fave)

• 2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika

• 1 bay leaf

• 8 ounces elbow pasta

• 6 slices American cheese, ripped into small pieces

• 1½ cups grated Cheddar

• ½ cup finely chopped chives 

Process:

Step 1
Heat a large (12-inch) sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-low, and add oil and onion; season lightly with salt and pepper. (The hot sauce added in Step 6 will add a lot of flavor, so be careful not to overseason here.) Let cook until the onions turn light beige in color and begin to caramelize 20 to 25 minutes. This is a game of PATIENCE, the longer you really let these caramelize the tastier it'll be.

Step 2
Add garlic and cook until fragrant and starting to brown ever so slightly, about 2 minutes.

Step 3
Increase heat to medium-high cook ground beef, using the back of a large spoon to break up the meat into smaller pieces. Continue to cook until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the meat starts to sear and develop a crust on the bottom of the pan, 12 to 15 minutes.

Step 4
Remove pan from the heat and carefully drain off most of the fat, leaving a little in the pan to keep the meat moist.

Step 5
Return pan to medium-high heat and add white wine, allowing it to reduce until the mixture is almost dry, about 10 minutes.

Step 6
Add the chicken stock, heavy cream, hot sauce, paprika and bay leaf to the pan. Mix until combined and bring to a boil.

Step 7
Once the mixture is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring often, about 9 minutes.

Step 8
Reduce the heat to low and stir in cheese, stirring until completely melted and the sauce is thickened.

Step 9
Remove the pan from heat, stir in chives and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.