homemade hamburger helper cheeseburger pasta

I want to start this post off by saying... I'M BACK!!! I had a nice little hiatus with my mom, future mother in law, future sister in law and niece (I just call her my niece). But, now back to cooking regular meals and not dining out so much... I also want to say straight off the bat that I wish I had used more cheese in this recipe, although I always feel that way about cheese.

This is essentially a recipe on how to make homemade hamburger helper cheeseburger macaroni without all the preservatives, chemicals and whatnot. I always cooks my ground beef this way- with a layer of garlic salt on the bottom. Call me crazy, but this is how my mom always did it, so call her crazy first. The garlic almost toasts in the bottom of the pan while the ground beef browns, and you get a nuttier flavor from the garlic.

This recipe is really just two components mixed together. Or three. Cooked penne pasta (or rotini in this case), the cheese sauce and the ground beef. The cheese sauce you see above is where I went wrong- I needed more cheese. I always need more cheese. About 1/2 cup more cheddar would have done the trick. I just wanted it to be saucier.

Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Pasta
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb cooked penne or rotini pasta
3/4 cup room temperature milk
2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Salt and pepper

In a skillet, cook ground beef in garlic salt until browned. Drain fat and add salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile, heat room temperature milk until a low simmer. Add in both cheeses and stir until completely melted. Combine cooked noodles, ground beef and cheese sauce in skillet and stir to combine. Enjoy!