Comforting Homestyle Meatless "Meat Loaf"

MAKES: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 small yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2-4 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 c water
- 1 c textured vegetable protein
- 3-5 sun dried tomatoes
- 1 c organic tofu, liquid squeezed from tofu using paper towels
- 1/2 c pecans
- 3 T hemp seeds
- 1/2 c oat bran
- 1/4 c nutritional yeast
- 1 T italian seasoning
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/4 c parsley, minced
- Just under 1/4 cup organic tomato ketchup
- 1 T mustard
- 1 T soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste

The Sauce:
- 1/4 c ketchup
- 1/4 c A1 steak sauce
- 2 T vean Worcestershire sauce
- 1 T brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large saute pan, heat 1-2 T olive oil and the garlic. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Place cooked onions and garlic into a large bowl and set aside.
2) In a separate small pot, boil the water and add the TVP. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 mins, then drain the liquid and add to the large bowl of onions and garlic.
3) In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, A1, Worcestershire and brown sugar to make the sauce. Set aside.
4) In a food processor, pulse together the sun dried tomatoes, tofu, pecans and hemp seeds. Use a spatula to transfer the mixture to the large bowl of onions.
3) In a small bowl combine the oat bran, nutritional yeast, italian seasoning, thyme, salt, pepper and minced parsley. Stir with a fork and add to the large bowl of the tofu/onion mixture. Mix thoroughly. Add the ketchup, mustard and soy sauce and mix again.
4) Scraping the sides of the bowl, start to form a ball with the mixture in the center of the bowl. Transfer the ball to a small bread pan or casserole dish and press the top down just just a bit to form a loaf. Pour the small bowl of sauce over top of the loaf to cover it completely. Place in the oven, uncovered, for 1 hour. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.


This is definitely one of those dishes that gets better as time goes on :) I don't love leftovers, but this one I will eat for a few days. Change up your side dishes to keep the meal going for days...or try eating it as a sandwich by chopping it up a bit, mixing it with more sauce and serving on a toasted bun. Delish!

I also like to save a little of the mixture before it gets cooked to roll into balls, freeze and use as meatballs in a pasta dish later that week. So many options....