Lentil Loaf!

I wanted to share a recipe I made up the other week totally out of my own head. I had a craving for some meatloaf. And since me and the family eat a predominately plant based diet I decided to try and make a faux loaf or lentil loaf instead. It turned out better than I ever could have expected. My hubby who is not one for the fake meats or anything like that really like this one. It gave him a familiar texture without the heavy feeling afterwards. And the best part about this recipe is that it was very economical cause instead of using ground beef or turkey which is as high as $3 and $4 a pound I used a $1.15 bag of lentils. Meatless meals are easy on the pocket and perfect for feeding a large family. I recommend even if you are a meat eating family that you switch out 2 or 3 recipes a week with a meatless meal and see the savings. 

I chopped up a small onion, 2 stalks of celery, and grated 1 large carrot.

I used flaxmeal and mixed it with water to create an egg replacer gel for the equivalent of about 2 eggs. Which I think I used about 6tsp or so. 

I took about 1cup of oats and placed it in the food processor. 

Process it until you get an oat flour. It might still have some whole grains but that's fine so long as most of it is flour. 

I sauted the veggies till soft in a skillet with a little oil.

I used plain brown lentils I had cooking in the crockpot already.

I scooped out about 4 cups. Try and drain the liquid. 

I added the lentils in a bowl with the oat flour. 

Then I added some seasonings. I believe I put onion powder, paprika, parsley flake, and salt and pepper. 

Nexxt I added the veggies and the egg replacer and mixed everything together.

I took out my rectangular pan and formed the mixture into a loaf. 

I used tomato paste, ketchup. molasses, soy sauce, honey, and liquid smoke to make a tangy BBQ flavored topping for the loaf. 

I didnt water it down. I just left it thick like a paste so I could spread it on the loaf. 

I cooked it in a 375 degree oven with a little bit of water in the pan for about 35- 45mins.  You could cover with foil and then remove for the last 15 min of cooking but we didn't have any foil when I was making it. 

So here is the finished loaf. It came out really good and tasty. We served it with fresh farmers market green beans and red skinned potatoes. Its was so good.