Vegetarian Meatloaf

Ok, let me just say... I have been eating so healthy lately you would all be jealous if you really knew. This recipe is not only a healthy version of real meatloaf, it is really really good. Or at least me and my family think so. We scarf it down for dinner with a yummy potato side, then we have it for leftovers the next day on some homemade rolls. Meatloaf sandwich? Yum!

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup lentils
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery, chopped
1 cup mushrooms (optional)
1 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cups grated cheese (any flavor, vege cheese is good too)
1 egg, beaten (or vegan egg substitute)
6 tablespoons BBQ sauce (or tomato sauce or ketchup or any combination)
1 tablespoon grill seasoning (grill seasoning has salt, pepper, garlic and other yummy stuff)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Glaze:
2 tablespoons each of BBQ sauce and ketchup.

Directions:

Bring 2 cups of water to boil, add salt and lentils and simmer covered until lentils are soft, 25-30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While lentils are cooking, food process the onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms until finally diced. Heat olive oil over medium heat and cook vegetables until soft about 10 minutes. season with salt and pepper.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. (at this point add more sauce, ketchup is fine or seasoning if you think it needs it.)

Dump mixture into a greased loaf pan and smooth top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

mix glaze together, spread over cooked loaf and bake for another 10 minutes.

cool for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.


* This should not be mushy or too dry when it is done cooking. If it is too dry, then oops, it needed more sauce before you baked it. It it is too mushy, try cooking it longer to dry it out.


*This recipe really is pretty versatile. For example if you want an Italian flavor, instead of the BBQ sauce and grill seasoning, use marinara sauce and Italian seasoning. Or you could do Mexican with salsa or tomato sauce and Mexican seasonings and pepper jack cheese. yum!

*For leftover sandwiches, I love to take the slices of meatloaf and fry them up in a hot lightly oiled pan.