Lentil and Hot Dog Sauce Recipe

A friend of mine, Becky, who is also very frugal and feeds a large family, has often talked about her standard weekly menu- one thing that always shows up is beans and hot dogs... I asked her for her recipe, because, honestly, my kids aren't the biggest fans of beans... and I decided to change it up and make something like that, but with lentils instead of beans.
Well, lets just say that my kids fell in love, and have asked me to make it a few times since. I use hot dogs that are "as healthy as possible"- only about 5 or six small hot dogs- which works out to be about 1 1/2 cups of sliced hot dogs- to 2 cups of lentils- so even though it has meat in it, its stretched out with the lentils.
My kids still feel like they're getting a treat, and I get to know that the more expensive and less healthy part (I admit, even the "less bad hot dogs are far from a health food) are kept to a minimum.

I serve it over rice or mashed potatoes.

It really is quite yummy, and super simple too.

(Oh- and to keep this recipe super quick to make- you can keep cooked lentils frozen in 2 cup portions, and then to cook this quickly, just dump the lentils and hot dogs with the rest of the ingredients in a pot and heat up.)

P.S. You can totally keep this vegan by leaving out the hot dogs. You may want to add a drop more seasonings if so.

Lentil and Hot Dog Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked green lentils
2 cups tomato paste
4 cups water
1/3 cup coconut sugar or 1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups hot dog slices
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Instructions:
1. Dump it all together in a pot.

2. Heat up.

3. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes or even noodles.

See- I told you simple!

Enjoy!

What are your super simple suppers that you make that your kids enjoy? Does this look like something you'd try?