San Andreas and Some Hamburger Helper

We watched the San Andreas movie yesterday on our new big TV. Keith was called to work and then called again and told not to come because no trains were allowed to go out after all. I'm sure everyone heard about the big mudslide that closed down Hwy 58 in Tehachapi last Thursday that is still not cleaned up and won't be for a few more days. The mudslide/flash flood also tore up the railroad tracks by the freeway, they were able to get one track temporarily fixed fairly quickly, but the second track is a huge mess and needs major repairs. Trains have been backed up for days and are slowly being taken through that area at a 6mph speed. He did finally go out at 6pm but in the meantime we were bored and decided to watch a movie. We rented it right on Amazon Prime which is a little more expensive than the Red Box but you don't have to get in the car and go to the Red Box. Nor do you have to return the movie the next day so for me totally worth $2.00 more.

Well, the movie really is kind of silly but the special effects were good. The main character is a rescue helicopter pilot whose daughter is in San Francisco when the earthquake hits so he needs to first rescue his soon to be ex wife from on top of a falling apart building in L.A. and then go up and rescue his daughter. He takes a rescue helicopter to save the wife first and I'm sure that the fire department or whoever was totally okay with him stealing one of their helicopters to do all the rescuing. Then, they are flying up to San Francisco and flying over Bakersfield where they crash land into a store. Of course the people in Bakersfield are all looting the stores and stealing big screen TVs while the people in San Francisco are politely walking away from the disaster area. We had to laugh and go yeah, that's Bakersfield! We're all a bunch of uncivilized looting rednecks here!

Anyway, silly movie but everyone eventually gets rescued and the soon to be ex wife sees the error of her ways and her new boyfriend she was going to move in with turns out to be a total asshole so he gets killed when a huge ocean liner crashes into the Golden Gate Bridge and a cargo container smashes him flat. Everyone ends up all weepy eyed and vowing to rebuild. Okay, whatever.

I found a recipe for homemade cheeseburger mac hamburger helper that I tried out yesterday and it actually came out quite tasty. I kind of  miss Hamburger Helper, it's really not good for you but nothing like it for dinner when you are on a budget and need something cheap and easy! My favorite was always the potato stroganoff flavor, but cheeseburger mac is a close second.

This recipe makes a HUGE amount, like enough to feed 4 very hungry people or 6 not so hungry and I found that it doesn't reheat well so next time I will cut the recipe in half.

Here is what you need:
1 lb hamburger
1 1/2 cups hot water
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups elbow macaroni or any other kind of pasta
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

For the spice mix:
2 tbsp cornstarch
3 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper

In a small bowl combine the spice mix ingredients, set aside.
In a large skillet brown the hamburger, drain. Add hot water, milk, pasta and spice mix. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.
At this point, it looks kind of runny but after you mix in the cheese it will firm up.
Remove cover and add the shredded cheese, stirring to combine until melted.

Eat. Yum. But remember leftovers just don't warm up well so eat it all now.

Easy peasy. I guess you probably should serve a vegetable with this, peas would probably be good or maybe a salad.