Once upon a time I went to the grocery store and came home with a LIVING basil plant by accident. I don’t do plants because I live in an apartment with 3 kids and a husband and well… boys love dirt! I’ve tried and tried to love on a plant in my very own home but it never really seems to pan out the way I was hoping.
Like the time my mother in law sent me a plant when my middle son was born. I had such high hopes, I brought him home from the hospital with the new baby and he was like a new member of the family. We took him outside, we gave him a great home, and he even moved all by itself! Planty was his name and I have many fond memories of him brightening my day with his wonderful natural presence.
Then one fateful day my baby grew into a toddler and started tearing up my house. Little ol’ Planty never even saw the big bad toddler coming. All of a sudden Planty was flipped upside down all over the carpet, his dirt everywhere.
“What should we do with him?” I asked my husband, who kindly suggested Planty be banished to the porch forever. As the days grew shorter and the nights colder, Planty began to shrivel like a poor ol’ fellow and one day…. I knew it was his time. The plant I tried so hard to love on, was gone forever, his leaves shriveled and yellow. RIP Planty!
Now, what is a mom of 3 boys to do with a basil plant that will inevitably be ruined by one of them? For now Basil Man is sitting in a mason jar on a window sill, unharmed by any children. Here is sweet Basil Man now sitting pretty as a food prop! Isn’t he beautiful! 🙂
Speaking of basil, nothing puts a smile on my face like the smell of fresh basil. Why buy something in a box and miss out on such a wonderful smell and taste? With this recipe you will never have to miss that perfect fresh basil smell again. Just like my Unprocessed Hamburger Helper recipe, this is the all REAL ingredient version of a processed classic that contains nothing but awful ingredients.
Speaking of ingredients it is time for me to go all ingredient freak on you because this is important stuff, right? OF COURSE! The boxed version of this includes partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats), MSG, monoglycerides (potential hidden trans fats), GMO cornstarch, hydrolyzed soy protein, artificial colors, and a few other questionable ingredient. For reals General Mills? Like are you trying to kill people or are you trying to kill people?
Thankfully, we never have to turn to General Mills again for this delicious dinner. It is SO SIMPLE and easy to make yourself and the ingredients are quite obvious. Cheese, buttermilk, basil, tomato, salt, spices, VIOLA! This is made just like the old classic…. brown the beef, add the other stuff (except the basil), bring to a boil, let simmer, enjoy the goodness.
