Hamburger Helper Chili Macaroni Pasta & Sauce Mix 5.2 oz (Pack of 12)

I used to make these years ago when I was a teenager and I remember them being fast, easy, cheap and somewhat tasty. I do remember having this flavor but they must have changed the recipe and removed ALL the cheese, leaving chili, paprika, onion powder, MSG and literally what looks like a tiny sandwich baggie of elbow pasta. Then you add a pound of ground beef and just WATER. The result is lots of ground beef with little bits of pasta floating in a clear chili flavored gel-like sauce. Did anyone taste test this product before putting it on the market?Once I added grated cheddar cheese, onions and milk, it was creamy and tasted a lot better. The "just add water" directions on the box make a really gross, watery mess that looks like a pile of poo from a sick bear. Some small changes like the company adding cheese, more thickeners and maybe MILK instead of water on the directions, might make this product better tasting. An even better idea is just to buy another brand of mac and cheese, then add ground beef and chili powder and avoid all the excess salt, MSG and needless chemicals this company has been using in their product for a long time. This stuff has been around since the 1980s and probably long before then. I get that they have made some recipe changes over the years but they really messed up this flavor. Seems more like the goal was to make a lower quality product that is not any healthier and that costs customers more.The most laughable part about this is, I bought this at a Chinese market in Los Angeles and it was shoved on the bottom shelf with lots of other typical American food products and all of them were being sold for ONE dollar which is about what it is worth and still nobody was buying it. I think maybe the Chinese grocers have the right idea; Hamburger Helper is crummy dollar food that should be shoved in the corner shelf of a store or your pantry with the emergency earthquake supply kit. Better yet, next time I will use that dollar to buy some bok choy and noodles and make something much healthier and better tasting. If I am going to eat MSG it might as well taste good. This product didn't until I added 3 additional things to it.Another funny thing is the next time I went to that same Chinese market, it looked like nobody had touched the dollar Hamburger Helper display and they are probably smart to walk right on by it. I can't imagine what someone would think if they just came to America, maybe didn't read English well yet and decided to try this product and probably thought they did something wrong when it came out disgusting! All I can say is, this American found it disgusting too. I love my country but wow...we sure do make some gross, over processed, unhealthy and ridiculous food in the name of "saving time" but certain products like this one are not any faster, cheaper or easier. Especially when you have to add things not listed in the directions to make it edible, you do not save time, sanity or money.I had much better luck cooking 59 cent noodles with no English directions on the label than I did with food from my own country that has been around since I was a kid. This is both funny and sad when it comes to the American diet. The bright side here is, at least this product probably looks the same going in one end as it does exiting the other. This is why I give Hamburger Helper two stars for humor. If not for all my laughter writing this review, it would have been a one star. Thanks Hamburger Helper for making me laugh for all the wrong reasons!