Hamburger Helper
Hamburger Helper is a packaged food product from General Mills, sold as part of the Betty Crocker brand. As boxed, it consists of a dried carbohydrate (often pasta or rice), with powdered seasonings contained in a packet. The product line also features other starches, such as potatoes. The contents of each box are combined with browned ground beef ("hamburger"), water, and, with some varieties, milk to create a complete one-dish meal. There are also variations of the product designed for other meats, such as "Tuna Helper" and "Chicken Helper". History. The packaged pasta brand "Hamburger Helper" was  introduced in 1971 in response to a meat shortage and rising meat prices. In 2005, Food Network rated it third on its list of "Top Five Fad Foods of 1970". In 2013, the company shortened the brand's name to just "Helper". The Hamburger Helper mascot is "the Helping Hand" or "Lefty"—a four-fingered, left-hand white glove with a face on the palm and a red spherical nose. It often appears in the product's television commercials and on packages. Hamburger varieties. The basic (and most popular) version of Hamburger Helper is a box of dried pasta with seasoning  that is designed to be cooked with ground beef. Hamburger Helper offers a variety of flavors, including Lasagne, Cheeseburger Macaroni, Bacon Cheeseburger, Philly Cheesesteak, and others. Other varieties. There are also variations designed for other meats: "Tuna Helper" and "Chicken Helper". In popular culture. A 1977 book collecting material from the satirical TV show "Saturday Night Live" contained an unproduced sketch called "Placenta Helper," an ad for a product which “lets you stretch your placenta into a tasty casserole." The sketch was written by Tom Davis and future US Senator Al Franken. In 1979, Scott Spiegel wrote, produced and directed  a short film entitled "Attack of the Helping Hand", which featured a "Hamburger Helper" oven mitt as a killer glove. The product is mentioned in the 1983 film "National Lampoon's Vacation". On April 1, 2016, General Mills commissioned an EP as an April Fools' Day prank, titled "Watch the Stove". According to a press release, the EP was produced for General Mills by a team at St. Paul, Minnesota's McNally Smith College of Music. The EP's title is a parody of the Jay-Z and Kanye West collaborative album "Watch the Throne". It contains five songs, all  of which are about Hamburger Helper. It instantly achieved a viral status, played over four million times on SoundCloud in less than three days, with many listeners finding value in the brand's promotion of younger artists. On September 1, 2020, an original TV commercial Hamburger Helper Hand puppet prop was featured on the TV show, A&E's What's It Worth (season 1, episode 9). Hosted by Comedian Jeff Foxworthy, the show included people from across the country that had hidden treasures inside their home. During this episode, Jeff Foxworthy met the owners of the Hamburger Helper Hand, Ally  and Michael Azen, aka "The Amazen Azens". This particular puppet prop was used in the late 1970s and 1980s commercials. The prop was authenticated and appraised by a professional auctioneer. In popular show "South Park" at 25 season 4th episode Russians eat Haburger Helper.