Corn & Jalapeno Mini Muffins

The combination of flavors in each one of these mini muffins really packs a punch!  It’s a delightful combo of sweetness from the honey, a bit of heat from the jalapeños and hearty cornmeal.  These are perfect side to serve with tacos or any Mexican dish.  Try pairing them with the Crockpot Chicken Tacos we featured on the blog last week!

Servings:  16 (recipe will make a total of 32 mini muffins)

Size:  2 mini corn muffins

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  10-12 minutes

Rating: 5 stars – Excellent!

Ingredient List:

2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

¼ cup flour

¾ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. sugar

⅛ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

½ cup milk

¼ cup honey

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

2 large jalapeños, seeded and diced

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, reduced-fat

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.  Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.  In a separate, larger bowl combine the egg, milk, honey and melted butter with a whisk.  Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl and stir until well mixed.  Fold in the jalapeños and cheddar cheese with a spatula.  Fill each muffin tin about 2/3 full.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Tip:

Serving these warm are a MUST!  Although you can save time and make these ahead of time, they really are best when they are just out of the oven.  Of course you can pop them back in oven to warm them up just before you are ready to sit down too!

XOXO Megan

Home Made Potato Chips

Chips!  Who doesn't love 'em?? They are my junk food.  Any of them - well, any except sun chips because I consider those too healthy - HA! Anyways, everyone knows that they are deep fried potatos, and obviously unhealthy.  Let me ask you this...what if you lived in a world where you could eat about 100 potato chips for just 2pp? Well guess what?? That world exists!  My husband received the Pampered Chef potato chip maker for Christmas, and this past week we tried it out.  After a few batches I would say we perfected the recipe.  They seriously taste like kettle chips, but not as greasy.  They are delish and guilt free! Now, I know that not everyone has this amazing potato chip maker, so I tried to make them without it.  Well guess what?? They were almost as good.  I would still recommend buying his amazing kitchen tool, but if you don't have it, you can still make your own chips at home. Potato chips for everyone!!

Servings: 1 (heck, I could eat 100 potato chips)
Serving Size: 1 potato, I used a 4 oz potato which I would classify as 'small' and got about 100 chips out of it!
Points Plus: 2pp
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: About 5 minutes per batch, time varies depending on thickness
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Rating: 5 stars - Excellent

Ingredients
1 potato, I used a 4 oz potato which came out to 2pp
Kosher Salt
Fresh cracked black pepper

Tools
Mandolin
Paper towel
Pampered Chef potato chip maker, linked above
OR
Parchment paper and a microwave safe plate

Instructions
Scrub your potato clean. Using a mandolin slice your potato into thin circles.  I used the second from the smallest thickness.  Dry the potatoes with your paper towel.

If using the chip maker, lay the chips on a single layer. The chip maker includes two levels.  So, fill each tray, stack them, and then put them in the microwave.

If you do not have a chip maker, lay a piece of parchment paper on a microwave safe plate. Again, be sure the slices are not overlapped.  Fill the plate and put it in the microwave.

In either instance, cook in the microwave for 3 minutes.  After three minutes flip the chips and sprinkle a desired amount of kosher salt on them.  Cook again for about 2 minutes. As you are cooking them feel free to check and remove any that you think are crispy enough. Continue cooking until all the chips are crispy. When chips are done, eat them all!

Tip
You could top these with any verity of seasonings.  Cayenne pepper, vinegar and salt, cinnamon! Next time, I would love to try to create sour cream and onion flavoring.  Check back for that one SOON! (or let me know if you have ideas of how to create this flavor)

Fun Fact
Did you know that 100 regular kettle chips could cost you around 31pp??

XOXO - Katie

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Before learning how to eat healthy I had no clue how easy it was to make yummy veggie soup.  I have tried many recipes over the years that really are just veggies and bullion (or stock), and they almost always turn out amazing!  This recipe from Skinnytaste is so easy and is one of my favs.  I love mushrooms (not everyone does ;), and this soup is great paired with half of a sandwich for lunch.  Also, it is only 2pp per serving.  Pretty amazing if you ask me!

Servings: 5

Servings Size: 1 1/4 cup

Points Plus: 3pp

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredients

3 tbsp flour

4 cups water

3 chicken bouillon cubes

5 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced

8 oz baby bella, sliced

1 celery stalk

Fresh ground pepper

Raw scallions

8 T. soft goat cheese

Instructions

Put water into a heavy stock pot and bring to a boil.  Add flour slowly, whisking as you go. Set pot to medium heat.

Add celery, mushrooms, chicken bouillon and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until veggies are soft, about 30 minutes. Remove and toss celery.  Using your immersion blender, blend to the consistency that you enjoy.  If you don't have an immersion blender take a few cups of the soup out and put it into your blender, and then return to the pot.  Continue cooking a few minutes longer.  I served my soup with a few raw onions and a dab of goat cheese (because I didn't have any sour cream.  

Tip

Bouillon has a TON of salt and maybe that is why I love it so much (I love salt which is bad, I know).  Don't fear, I am on the hunt for a better bullion.  I have found a few recipes for DIY that I am going to test out in the next few weeks.  I have never found a stock that I think tastes as good as bullion, so if you have one, please let me know what it is and I will give it a try!  Add the bouillon slowly.  If you like your soup less salty you might not need 3 cubes.

Homemade Peppermint Patties

Although my family has our traditional Christmas cookie favorites, we always like to test out a new recipe every year.  This year we chose this recipe, found on the Blue Eyed Bakers blog. We thought it looked like a bit of a challenge to try and make your own peppermint patties! They turned out pretty well, the only issue we had was making sure to remove as much excess chocolate as possible when dipping and transferring to the cookie sheet to set.  It did get easier with some practice and as mentioned below… key to success is FROZEN patties.  We did shrink the size a bit to offer bite-size pieces and for a lower pp value!

Servings: Recipe will make 44 small, bite-sized patties

Size:  1 peppermint patty

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Prep Time: 45 minutes (including time while in the freezer)

Bake Time:  n/a

Rating: 4 stars – Very Good

Ingredient List:

2 ½ cups powdered sugar, divided

1 ½ Tbsp. light corn syrup

2 Tbsp. water

1 tsp. peppermint extract

1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening

8 oz. 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate, chopped

¼ cup peppermint candies, crushed

Directions:

In a medium bowl, beat together 2 ¼ cups of powdered sugar with corn syrup, water, peppermint extract and shortening until just combined. Use the remaining ¼ cup of powdered sugar to sprinkle the counter to prepare for kneading.  Work the dough into a ball and gently knead until the dough is smooth.  Shape the mixture into 2 logs, about 1 inch wide by 8 inches long.  Wrap each log tightly in parchment paper and freeze for 20 minutes; it should be very firm.  Remove the logs and cut each one into slices to form the peppermint patties.  You may need to reshape each one to resemble more of a round shape with your fingers.  Place the peppermint patties on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze again for another 15-20 minutes.  While you are waiting for the patties to freeze, melt the 70% cacao chocolate in a microwavable glass dish for 30 seconds at a time until fully melted.  Line another cookie sheet with parchment paper and remove a small amount of peppermint patties from the freezer for dipping.  Key to this part of the process is making sure the patties are VERY cold.  Dip each peppermint patty in the melted chocolate, making sure to evenly coat all sides.  Shake very gently so any excess chocolate falls off before you transfer to the cookie sheet.  Immediately top with a sprinkle of crushed peppermint candies.  Repeat until all peppermint patties are coated and sprinkled.  Allow the chocolate to harden and set (this will take about an hour) before you put into Tupperware.

Tip:

I cannot stress enough the importance of very firm, frozen peppermint patties when you get to the chocolate coating step!  If you start to have issues, just throw the cookie sheet back in the freezer for a few minutes and take a break.  You can only dip a handful of patties within each window before they start warming up too much!

XOXO Megan

Sugar & Spice Cookies

These are another one of my favorite Christmas cookies!  They are a perfect blend of sugar and spice... hence the name. :)  Seriously though... if you don't have a gingersnap on your annual holiday cookie baking list, you should add these!

Servings:  Recipe will make 4 dozen

Size:  1 cookie

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time:  6-8 minutes per batch

Rating: 5 stars – Excellent

Ingredient List:

¾ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg

¼ cup molasses

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ginger

2 cups flour

1 cup powdered sugar (to roll cookies in after baking)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a medium bowl, mix together the shortening, sugar, egg, and molasses.  Next, add in the baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger and 1 cup of flour; mix well.  Add the remaining cup of flour and mix until thoroughly combined.  Roll into walnut sized balls.  Bake for 6-8 minutes in a 375° oven.  Roll in powdered sugar while still warm.

Tip:

 Depending on how warm the cookies are when you roll in powdered sugar, you might need to roll your cookies in two different steps to make sure the sugar sticks to the warm cookies.  The ones in the picture above were rolled twice as a reference point.  However, if you prefer less sugar, only go through this step once!

XOXO Megan

Stuffing Cups

STUFFING! Cake isn't the only food that can be easily portioned by putting them into cup form.  Check out these delicious stuffing cups, originally inspired by Emily Bites with a few modifications.  With only 2pp each you can have as many as your heart desires, or save room for dessert!

Servings: 12 cups
Serving Size: 1 cup
Points Plus: 2pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredients
8 slices light whole wheat bread
1 T. light butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, minced
1/2 cup celery, minced
3 oz. Craisins
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 t. rubbed sage
1/2 t. dried thyme leaves, chopped
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 275.  Cut bread into small cubes. Spread them onto a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Spritz with cooking spray and bake for 45 minutes.

Place 1 T. of butter into a skillet and melt over medium heat.  When melted add garlic, onion and celery and cook for about 5 minutes until tender.

In a large bowl mix bread crumbs, veggie mix, 2 eggs, broth, salt, pepper, sage and thyme.  Stir together until combined.

Spritz 12 muffin tins with cooking spray. Split the ingredients evenly between the 12 tins, a little more than 1/4 c. per tin.  Raise your oven temp to 375 and bake for about 25 minutes.  Watch them closely, mine gone a little brown :)

Tip:
I can't WAIT to try these again with a bit of variation!  You could try cornbread, sausage, apples, turkey, additional or substituted spices OR top with a tad of gravy.  Remember to adjust your points plus accordingly!

Pumpkin Cheese Fondue

Pumpkin fondue?!?  What a delicious combination of spices, cheeses and of course PUMPKIN!  Fondue is a very fun appetizer to serve when entertaining!  This recipe has a new twist on the tradtional cheese fondue by incorporating pumpkin into it.  Check it out and see what you think.

Servings:  16

Size: 3 Tbsp. (total recipe makes about 3 cups) 

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Medium

Prep Time: 10 minutes (if you need to grate the cheese)

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 ¾ cup hard apple cider

¾ cup pumpkin puree

¼ tsp. dry mustard powder

¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper

¼ tsp. homemade pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp. sea salt

2 Tbsp. flour

2 oz. grated cheddar cheese

1 oz. grated Gruyere cheese

3 oz. Brie cheese (remove the rind)

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients listed above through the sea salt in a medium saucepan.  Whisk the mixture until well combined; cook over medium heat brining it just to a boil.  Immediately reduce the heat to low.  While the saucepan mixture is heating up, combine the flour with the three cheeses, tossing to coat evenly.  Add the cheeses to the pumpkin mixture in three separate batches, whisking constantly until the cheese in melted before you add the next batch.  Finally, whisk in the lemon juice and pour into a fondue pot that has already been warmed.

Serve the pumpkin cheese fondue with apple slices, cubed multi-grain bread or veggies.

Tip:

In order to stay in control, it would be best to serve this fondue with only apples and veggies and forgo the bread cubes so you are only using points for the fondue and not the dipping pieces.  Although bread is delicious, you can save points for other foods OR eat another serving of the fondue! :)

XOXO Megan

Red Sauce

Here is a yummy and simple red sauce that you can use for anything! Pizza, pasta, dip for your polenta fries!

Servings: 4
Serving Size: 1 cup
Points Plus: 2pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4 - Very Good

Ingredients:
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tomato fresh from the garden, diced
4 cloves of garlic, cut small
1 T. olive oil
1 T. dried basil
1 T. dried parsley
1 T. dried rosemary
1 T. brown sugar
1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat oil in a saute pan and add onions and garlic.  Saute about 4 minutes. Grind dried spices and sugar in a pistol and mortar until combined. Add tomatoes to saute pan, along with spices, bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat and loosely cover and saute for 30 minutes. Add the fresh basil about 5 minutes before you are done.  Enjoy!

Tip:
Using the pistol and mortar will help to bring out the flavor of the dried spices.  If you don't have one, feel free to just sprinkle the spices on top when you add the tomatoes to the pay.  Also, if you like your red sauce creamy, get out your immersion blender and give her a few pulses!

XOXO Katie

The Perfect Poached Egg

Dinner tonight (pictured below) did not fully turn out. In an effort to utilize some CSA Lacinato Kale I sauteed some up with chopped onions, garlic powder, salt and pepper. My plan was to top it with the perfect poached egg, and it seemed wonderful in my head, but I must admit, I think kale is gross.  I haven't been able to figure out a way to cook it without using a ton of fat, so I suppose I wont be making it again any time soon!  (meanwhile my husband is making his second dinner of NACHOS in the kitchen, boooooo I want nachos!!!)  Anyways, lucky for me the perfect poached egg turned out amazing.  Follow these simple instructions below.

Serving: 1
Serving Size: 1 poached egg
Points plus: 2pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 2:30-3 minutes
Rating: 5 - Excellent

Ingredients:
1 raw egg
1 t. vinegar

Directions:
Fill a pan with water and bring to a low boil.  Add vinegar and reduce heat so water is just slightly boiling. Crack egg into a small bowl.  Using a spoon, create a clockwise tornado in the pan with the water.  When you have your tornado going drop the egg in FAST to the outside of the pan.  The tornado will help to have the egg sort of catch itself and stay together.  Let the egg cook for 2:30-3 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon.  Tip with a tad of salt and a tad of pepper!

Tip:
Even if you want to, do not try and poach more than one egg at a time.  They will not turn out right.  But if you follow the instructions above they will turn out perfect every time!

XOXO - Katie

Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

This is quick, healthy appetizer that resembles something much more indulgent.  Serve this as a snack before dinner to help people feel satisfied, but not too full that you ruin your dinner appetite!

Servings: 4

Size:  About ½ cup

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Rating: 3 stars – Good

Ingredient List:

Cooking spray
2 medium zucchini, sliced to ¼ inch slices
1 Tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°. Wash and slice the zucchini into ¼ inch slices.  In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini slices with 1 Tbsp. olive oil.  In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Begin an assembly line by taking a zucchini slice, dipping it in the bread crumb/cheese coating, pressing the coating to stick and making sure you coat both sides before transferring to the baking sheet. Bake until the crisps are browned, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Tip:

Grab a friend (or your fiancé) to help with the breadcrumb/Parmesan coating process – you will have quite a few zucchini slices so it gets a little repetitive!

XOXO Megan

Mini Bacon and Cheese Quiches

I love mini foods and these mini quiches are so cute!  They are also easy to make and low in pp value (and a WW recipe!).  There are a lot of different varieties you could make with this recipe to serve it at a dinner party as an appetizer.  As bacon and egg quiches, I served this at a brunch party.

Servings:  18

Size:  2 mini quiches

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  20 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

36 wonton wrappers (3 ½ inch squares)

1 small onion

1 cup fat free egg substitute

1 ½ cup evaporated milk

½ cup shredded cheddar, reduced-fat

4 slices turkey bacon, chopped

Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat 36 mini muffin pans with cooking spray.  Press wonton wrappers into each mini muffin cup and spray the edges of the wonton wrappers, this will ensure they brown while baking.  In a small skillet, sauté the onion until tender, about 3-5 minutes.  Whisk together the egg, milk, cheese in a glass bowl; stir in the bacon and onion.  Fill the mini muffin cups with approximately 1 Tbsp. of egg filling.  Bake for 20 min.

Tip:

Wonton wrappers can be used for so many different recipes!  They are perfect for making homemade ravioli – Katie is a pro at wonton raviolis. J

XOXO Megan

Onion Dip

I saw this recipe on Siriously Delicious and immediately went to the store to buy the ingredients (for real!).  We are going camping for the weekend, and I thought this was the perfect appetizer/snack that could be paired with chips OR veggies.  It is so easy, only 3 ingredients, and does not taste 'healthy'.

Servings: 8

Size: 1/4 cup

Points Plus: 2

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Ingredient List:

8oz fat free plain Greek yogurt

8 oz light sour cream

1 package onion soup mix (I used lipton)

Directions:

Mix and eat! Pop a lid on and go!

Tip: 

As mentioned above, you could pair this with veggies instead of chips for a light camping snack.  I have tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and broccoli packed!

Mushroom Stroganoff

Do you ever just want to make homemade mushroom stroganoff but then you go online to Google a recipe and a million come up and you research and research and then finally give up because it seems too hard?  That exact sinareo has happened to me at LEAST 10 times (is that weird?).  I guess I find mushroom stroganoff subconsciously overwhelming.  Well don't fret, I have the recipe for you! This sauce is actually vegan, so no cheese or milk.  You would never believe it is so healthy!

Servings: 4
Size: 1/2 c.
Points Plus: 2pp (sauce only)
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
10 oz washed button mushrooms
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 T olive oil
1 T. Smart Balance Light butter
1 T. Flour
1 t. dried dill
1 t. dried parsley
1/2 c. fresh chives
1 c. soy milk
1/2 c. veggie stock
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Add 1 T olive oil to large dutch oven followed by 1 T flour.  Mix until incorporated and cook for 4 minutes, siring frequently.  Add onion, stir and cook for 4 more minutes.  Add stock, soy milk, mushrooms, spices, salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil.  Add butter and chives, cover and cook for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes taste and adjust salt and pepper.  Eat over noodles or veggies (I thought broccoli would be good).

Tip:
This recipe can EASILY be doubled or even tripled! Since it is so low in pp you could eat a cup of the sauce for no guilt!

XOXO - Katie

Zucchini Medley

I love zucchini!  It’s one of my favorite vegetables alongside Brussels sprouts and asparagus.  This side dish is a new way to serve zucchini and is packed with veggies.

Servings: 6

Size:  1/6 of the serving dish

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  30 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

2 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. butter
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
½ green pepper, cut into ½ inch slices
2 tsp. oregano
Salt & pepper to taste
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Arrange zucchini slices in layers on the bottom of an 8x8 glass baking dish.  Top with onion.  Sprinkle half of the oregano, salt & pepper on top of the veggies.  Place small pats of butter on top of the veggies (1 Tbsp.).  Next, top with tomato slices and finally end with green pepper slices.  Sprinkle the remaining oregano, salt & pepper as well as the last Tbsp. of butter.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the veggies look tender.  Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Tip:

Make sure you slice the zucchini into thin slices (well all the vegetables actually) - this will allow the veggies to cook all the way through and be tender once the dish is done cooking!

XOXO Megan

Snobby Joes?

Have you ever heard of Snobby Joes? Sloppy Joes more snooty relative?  I saw a friend post this cooking concept on Facebook and had to try.  When making Snobby Joes you sub the meat for lentils.  Now, I don't think these taste like Sloppy Joes, but they do resemble the texture and look.  This recipe is ridiculously low in points plus (pp), and because of that, you could put it on any bread of your choosing to make a tasty meal.  The pp below only include the Snobby Joe part, so remember to add extra points for your choice of bread and toppings (in this case I topped with 2 T. reduced fat cheddar for an extra 1 pp, and light bread for 1pp per slice)

In case you don't know a lot about lentils, they are extremely filling which is why I made the serving size 1/2 cup (or enough for two open faced Snobby Joes).  Also, if you haven't seen this clip from Billy Madison, I suggest you watch it immediately.

Servings: 10

Size: 1/2 cup

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked lentils, rinsed

4 cups water

1 T. olive oil

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 T. chili powder

2 t. oregano

1 t. Kosher salt

2 cup tomato sauce*

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 T. maple syrup

1 T. yellow mustard

Directions:

Place uncooked lentils and water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer 20 minutes.  Drain and put back into pan.

Preheat oil in medium saucepan sautee onion and pepper about 8 minutes.  Add minced garlic during last minute of sautee. Add veggie mixture to lentils.

Add chili powder, oregano, salt, tomato sauce and tomato paste to lentils and veggies.  Cook on low for about 10 minutes. Add maple syrup and mustard and heat through. 

Turn off heat and let stand covered for 10 minutes.

Tip:

How many times have you opened a can of tomato paste just to toss the leftovers?  I mean, I don't think a recipe exists that calls for a whole can of tomato paste (ok maybe some chillis but you catch my drift). Have you ever seen THIS! It's tubed tomato paste, with a little cap that you can put on to SAVE the paste for it's next use.  I personally think the tubed paste is of higher quality than the can and tastes better. Check it out the next time you are grocery shopping.

*CONFESSION: After making this recipe, writing this post, cleaning up the kitchen and looking back I realized that I accidentally used marinara sauce instead of tomato sauce! Everything above is with tomato sauce, and I think they would taste more like Sloppy Joes if you did.  Try it out and let us know what you think!