Score with the meatless meatloaf

Couple of weeks ago I tried this recipe. Now when trying things for the first time I go by the ingredients and instructions with rare exceptions (my butter Indian chicken). When we made it the last time I found the onion too hard / raw in the loaf and not soft enough for my taste, I'm never a fan of biting into onion chunks cooked or not. So I modified it my saluting the onion with some celery and carrot to soften the texture and to slightly sweeten the taste. I also added about 1/3 cup of store bought BBQ sauce. The result a very passable substitute for meatloaf at a fraction of the cost. My only amendment would be more sauce or substitute the tomato sauce entirely for BBQ sauce for that kick.

This is a keeper of a recipe for me. Now it takes more time than regular meatloaf as you have to precook the lentils but it's oh so worth it and a fraction of the cost of making a true meatloaf. I also religiously let the loaf stand resulting in flawless presentation on he plate.

I am a cheating vegetarian

Well dropping meat makes a difference in the food bills. Seriously. So in order for me to do other things as you have been reading I've been dropping meat. There are however exceptions. Stock. It's almost impossible to buy vegetable stock cheap and in bulk yet chicken is easy to come by. So I allow myself to use that. Maybe I'll get around to making my own but for now I'll stick with what I can get. I may buy meat for one meal during the week and most of the time that is for our Monday meals and not our family meals.

My current favorite goto is lentils for protein however I'm branching out this week I'm gonna experiment with mung beans. Apparently they are a great superfood and they are very easy to cook! So I'm gonna experiment in the kitchen with them this week. After all we do need a break now and then from the staples.

James is being a real trooper and if his Dad saw half of what I feed my husband hehe. But in my mind you gotta do what you gotta do. Some meals I've not been jumping over the moon about. I did a soba noodle recipe last week I did not love, however adding a dressing I had in my fridge it's palatable enough and I've been chewing down on the left overs for lunch. A south Indian lentil curry I did last week I found a little bland so probably won't do that one again.

However the meatless meatloaf was pretty decent. I'm gonna make it my own this week using the basic recipe and tweaking it. By not going vegetarian I'm able to use meat stocks eggs and other ingredients this makes it so much easier! Eggs are not taboo neither is milk or cheese. I'm making my own breads (try it it's easy and saves so much money!) plus you know what you are putting in it. I do want to invest in a dough hook for my food processor tho...

Anyway here is a snapshot of my meal plan. I have a vodka tomato soup in the freezer and some of the Indian lentil soup too which will tide me over two meals. Then on Thursday I'm gonna make up a mung bean dish from ideas on the web. Excited a little bit and hoping I can keep within my budget!