Homeade Hamburgler (mock helper)

My kids LOVED this. Even Emma, the almost vegetarian of the bunch asked if we could please have it again. I got nostalgic after making the Baked Chicken and Rice and thought, wouldn't it be fun to have Hamburger Helper... except, the stuff in those boxes doesn't seem very healthy. So I found a homemade recipe and slightly modified it for what I was looking for.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed ($.10)
Pepper
3 Tbsp dairy free margarine or butter
3 Tbsp flour
3 cups milk (I used soy, but you can use whole)
1 cup water
2 cups whole wheat elbow or shell pasta noodles
Salt and pepper, to taste
Frozen peas, or mixed veggies, whatever you like

Directions
1. In large skillet, brown ground beef with chopped onion and crushed garlic cloves. Season with pepper. Once fully cooked, drain and rinse ground beef. Do not return beef to the skillet. Yet.
2. In same skillet, add margarine or butter. Once melted, whisk in flour to form a paste. Quickly whisk in milk and tomatoe sauce until no clumps remain. Cook for 3-4 minutes over medium heat, until sauce starts to bubble and thicken. Once sauce starts to thicken, add 1 cup of water and 2 cups of pasta shells. Stir through. Add 1 lb. of meat and mix together. Cover and cook over medium heat for 12-15 minutes, or until pasta shells have cooked through. Stir often. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken slightly after removing from heat.
3. Prepare frozen peas as indicated on package instructions.
4. Serve “Hamburger Helper” Pasta with Peas.