Hamburger Helper

I used to love Hamburger Helper until I realized what a mess of chemicals it is.  So when I found a recipe for home made Chili Cheese Hamburger Helper on the internet I needed to try doing a version of the regular one.  (My version is dairy free and gluten free.)  You can prepare a bunch of premade packages ahead of time just put the pasta in one bag and the spice mix in another.  Then all you have to do is add the browned ground beef and the wet ingredients and it is just like the boxed mix, ready to go in a moments notice!

1 pound of ground meat (I use chicken but you can use turkey or beef)
1 1/2 cups of pasta (I use rice pasta shells)
2 cups of milk (I use almond milk)
1 cup of water
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp dried onion
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt

Brown the ground meat in a frying pan.  Add pasta, water and milk.  Sprinkle in the mixture of spices and cornstarch.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.  Once it is boiling turn it down to medium-low and put a cover on the pan.  Let it simmer for 15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked and the sauce has thickened.  Sometimes I have to take the lid off for the last few minutes to get the sauce to thicken to the consistency that I prefer.

I took a picture of the final product but it didn't turn out very good and the meal is already eaten so I will give you some pictures taken by the boys with my phone.  You never know what kind of pictures they will take of themselves when they get a hold of an unlocked phone.

Pumpkin Spice Donuts!

I think one of the hardest thing for us to find without artificial preservatives, colours, flavours or corn syrup is donuts.  I am pretty sure it has been at least 6 years since Jake had one.  That is a long time with donuts!  When I saw that you can buy pans to bake them in the oven I was pretty excited but of course I could not find them any where in my town.  So the next time we were in the city I found some.

I used Pamela's Baking Mix to make these.  Here is a link to the recipe that I based them on.

4 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup of pumpkin
1 1/3 cups of Pamela's Baking Mix
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
couple shakes of nutmeg

Mix the first 4 ingredients together.  When well mixed add the rest.  Mix until incorporated.  Get a large ziplock or piping bag ready and fill it with the batter. 

Pipe the batter into the donut pans so each donut indentation is 2/3 full.  Don't cover the centre nub or your donuts will rise over it.

Bake in a 350F oven for about 20 minutes. 

The tops (on the right) will still be a light brown colour but the bottoms (on the left) will be much darker.

I removed them from the pan when they came out of the oven and let them cool on wire racks. 

When they cooled I put vanilla icing on them.  I started icing them however I happened to pick them up but soon realized it was easier to ice the tops because they were flatter and the bottoms were quite round.    They were then handed over to the boys who decorated them with India Tree Natural Sprinkles.

They have gotten rave reviews from everyone who has tried them!