Everything But The Kitchen Sink Vegan Loaf

This recipe is meant to use ingredients you have on hand, so replace walnuts with the nut you already have in the cupboard, or use shallots instead of onion, barley instead of rice.

Ingredients

1 - Sauté:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 lg. Spanish onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. crushed chili pepper
fresh ground black pepper
salt

2 - Pulse in processor: 
1 can chickpeas
handful of parsley, chopped
7 to 8 halves of sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped
handful of walnuts (or other nut)
1/4 c. of onion
2 tbsp. olive oil

3 - Add to sauté: 
1/2 c. lentils, rinsed
2 tsp. maple syrup
1/3 c. cooked rice
1/2 c. passata or sauce or diced tomatoes pureed
a few shakes of liquid smoke

4 - Combine into bowl: 
1 1/4 c. quick oats
olive oil
3/4 c. panko
2 tbsp. ground flax seeds
1/2 tbsp. agar powder
2 tbsp. pesto
3 tbsp. nutritional yeast or parmesan-style nut cheese
3 tbsp. vegan Worcestershire

Directions
Sauté ingredients listed in step 1, until onions and peppers are soft, then remove from burner. Pulse ingredients listed in step 2. Add ingredients from step 3 into the sauté from step 1 and put back on the burner. Add pulsed mixture from step 2 into a large bowl and add new ingredients from step 4. Form into a loaf and pour a little sauce over the top.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 90 minutes. Serves many.

Southwestern Meatloaf

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs or 1/2 c. Egg Beaters
1/2 cup salsa
2 tsp. chili powder
3/4 cup canned black beans (rinsed & drained)

Directions
Mix all ingredients. Pour into a 9x5x3-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until cooked through. Top with 1/4 cup salsa.

Asian Pork Meatloaf

Sky and I recently watched an episode of Alton Brown's "Good Eats," during which he demonstrated the perfect meatloaf. Alton recommended trying a variety of different meats and vegetables, so I went HOG wild with my love of pork.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground pork
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 red onion
1/2 Granny Smith apple
a handful of baby carrots
1 tsp. garlic, minced
a few shakes of ground cayenne pepper
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
store-bought Asian dressing or dipping sauce
(a soy-sesame style would work well here)

Directions
Using Chef Tony's Ultimate Chopper (or a standard food processor), roughly chop onion, carrots and apples. Combine with remaining ingredients and mix gently with your freshly washed hands until everything is distributed evenly. Press meatloaf mixture into loaf pan and then turn over onto a baking sheet (the loaf pan is only a mold). Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until center of meatloaf measures 170 degrees. After about 35-40 minutes, glaze meatloaf with Asian sauce or dressing. Serves 4.

Classic Meatloaf

I double-dog dare you to claim that you don't like meatloaf.

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb. ground beef (85/15)
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1/2 packet of prepared onion soup mix
4 tbsp. tomato sauce
3 eggs

Directions
Mix ingredients well (let's be honest, you like to feel the meat squishing between your fingers). Form into a loaf and bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes in a greased loaf pan.