Little Pizza Muffins With Parmesan Cheese - Ketchup is the Secret Ingredient!

Ketchup is staple in my kitchen, the condiment I use for hamburgers and when I run into cooking trouble. In fact, ketchup is a secret ingredient that has saved many recipes. I have added ketchup to soup to perk up the flavor. I have added ketchup to gravy to give it color. Ketchup is one of the main ingredients in my Sloppy Joes. In a pinch, I have even used watered down ketchup as pizza sauce.

This gave me the idea for pizza muffins.

I make the muffins with unbleached whole wheat flour, a relatively new item on supermarket shelves. King Arthur is one of the companies that makes this product and, according to its website, the flour is milled from hard white wheat. This flour has a lighter color and flavor than traditional red white, the website explains, but it "still has all the fiber and nutrition." According to the test kitchen bakers, this product looks, acts, and tastes like regular white flour.

When I created these pizza-flavored muffins I started out with a basic muffin batter. One of my bread recipes calls for ketchup, so I decided to add some. I did not add any sugar because ketchup is already sweet. But these tasty morsels still contain the basic pizza ingredients -- oregano, garlic, and pepperoni. Even better, you get the taste of pizza without all the calories. Call the kids and ask them to help you make Little Pizza Muffins with Parmesan Cheese.

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 large egg)
1 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
1 cup diced pepperoni

Method

In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, oregano, garlic, and shredded Parmesan cheese together. In a smaller bowl, whisk ketchup, egg substitute, milk, and olive oil together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, being careful not to over-mix the batter. Coat two mini muffin pans with cooking spray. Spoon batter into cups, filling them 3/4 full, and sprinkle each with diced pepperoni. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 12 minutes, or until the muffins start to pull away from the pan. Makes 24 mini muffins.

Copyright 2010 by Harriet Hodgson

http://www.harriethodgson.com

Harriet Hodgson has been an independent journalist for 30+ years. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association of Health Care Journalists, and Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krann, MD is available from Amazon.

Centering Corporation has published her 26th book, "Writing to Recover: The Journey from Loss and Grief to a New Life" and a companion journal with 100 writing prompts. Hodgson is a monthly columnist for the new "Caregiving in America" magazine, which resumes publication in August. She is also a contributing writer for the Open to Hope Foundation website. Please visit Harriet's website and learn more about this busy author and grandmother.

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