Beef Enchilada Bowl

I first discovered the existence of “Helper” products back when I was growing up–my family friends’ parents would sometimes make us Tuna or Hamburger Helper when the whole Asian mafia would gather for sleepovers and the like. It’s one of the few things my brother and I knew how to make before I finally learned to cook from my college roommate. Although I usually like making things from scratch, time has kinda been an issue lately.

I know boxed dinners aren’t generally considered to be very healthy, but they are definitely convenient. I’ve been having a world of trouble convincing my [preceptor’s] patients to start up healthier living + eating habits and/or to cook for themselves (because that’s generally healthier + less costly than going out to eat all the time), so I’ve been encouraging them to break it down into little steps. For instance:

1. Add more lean proteins + veggies to your diet.
2. If there are whole wheat and/or brown rice options vs. enriched pasta/white rice, go with the whole wheat/brown rice.
3. If you have a choice, try to get products with lower sodium content.

You don’t have to change everything at once, but if you take it one step at a time, it’s not quite so daunting. Everyone’s gotta start somewhere!

I came upon the realization that I haven’t actually had any beef in a while, since I usually default to chicken and fish. (I tend to always find the latter two for cheaper.) When I found out about the free ground beef rebate from Hamburger Helper, I figured it’d be a great chance for me to (at long last) feature a recipe with it! I’ve been all about “bowl” recipes lately. <3

To get the rebate, follow these instructions!

1. Visit your local store + buy 3 Helper products (can be Hamburger, Tuna, or Chicken!) + 1 lb. of ground beef.
2. Visit this landing page and click on the rebate.
3. Print + mail rebate form!

Since there’s a rebate for 1 lb. of free ground beef if you get 3 Helper products, I chose Cheesy Hashbrowns, Cheesy Enchilada, and Beef Pasta for my Hamburger Helper picks, partly because they had the lowest sodium out of the spectrum offered at my store…and because my local store didn’t have any of the whole wheat options stocked (sigh). I’d love it if they came up with more whole wheat products (and brown rice as an option!

These three range from 100-130 calories per serving, with 21-27g carbohydrates, 0.5-1g fat, 2-4g protein, and 250-540mg sodium.)

The #1 excuse I’ve been getting from my [preceptor’s] patients is…“I have no time,” so I figured it’d be a fun challenge to “live in my patients’ shoes” and try to healthify this + add more nutrients to it!

Life has been a hit or miss for me in the protein department lately, so I wanted to soup this up with something more. I decided to add beans for added protein and fiber, corn for vegetables, and an avocado (the selection at the store wasn’t the greatest, but avocados make everything in life better <3 ).

I’m on my surgery rotation right now, which has notoriously long hours, so I can definitely relate to the lack of time issue. (My surgeon calculated that during his residency, for the amount of hours he worked vs. what he was paid, he made 58 cents/hour.) With boards starting to loom off in the distance (nooo) + not much time to eat, some days, I just really don’t want to have to think about what to throw together, nor do I have the patience to watch over something while it cooks.

Generally speaking, when I get home from surgery, I take a shower and scarf some food down while studying/finishing assignments/working on scheduling my rotations for next year, usually til midnight. (Rinse and repeat.) I live a wildly exciting life, I know. (Truth be told, surgery has actually been really fun so far, but I’ll get to that in another post!)

Because of my personal preference with cheese, I didn’t use very much of the cheese topping, but it still tasted great! Here are the fruits of my labor!

This picture was taken in the daytime only because I was given a day off today to drive back to my school (3 hours away x_x ) because I apparently won an award! (Yayyy!) I’m not looking forward to having to drive back, but at least I have a good number of podcasts around to help me study while I drive.

I’m hanging out at the cat shelter right now, so I was able to get laundry done, clean out the litter boxes for the cats, and wash all the dishes while this was cooking! Yay for multi-tasking!

Beef Enchilada Bowl

Ingredients:

(Beef)

• 1 lb. lean ground beef

(Enchilada Bowl)

• Sauce packet + rice from Hamburger Helper Cheesy Enchilada
• 1 cup milk (I used Homestead Creamery)
• 2 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 can corn
• 1 can black beans
• 1 avocado, sliced

(Topping)

• Topping packet from Hamburger Helper Cheesy Enchilada
• 3 tbsp milk (I used Homestead Creamery)

Instructions:

1. (Beef) Brown beef in a 10-in. skillet for ~10 minutes and drain.
2. (Enchilada Bowl) Stir in milk, hot water, sauce mix + rice packet. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat.
3. Cover and simmer for ~20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender.
4. Add corn + black beans, give it a stir, and let simmer for another 3-5 minutes.
5. (Topping) In a small bowl, add milk + sauce packet and mix until combined.
6. Top rice bowl with the cheesy topping + slices of avocado and cilantro!