Lentil Loaf

I am making a food for a CHIP friend who fell and broke her elbow and nose. Anther good friend Jean gave me this recipe.

Tomato topping Mixture:

• 1 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon onion fakes
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Do above mixture first and set aside.
2.  I did not use above mixture, but instead used 1 cup ketchup with No Fructose Corn Syrup in it.
3. The above mixture was to be spread over the top of the loaf before baking. I used ketchup and added it to the ingredients to make more moist. (Jean's input)

Lentil Loaf|

• 1 cup old fashioned oats- I could not believe but I had no oatmeal in the house so used 5 Grain Cereal
• 1/2 block extra firm tofu
• 1cup each chopped onion and celery
• 1/2 cup each chopped red peppers and green peppers
• 1 cup ketchup- with NoFructose Corn Syrup in it
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt-optional
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried mustard
• 1 Tablespoon low sodium Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons plain corn meal
• 1 teaspoon sugar-optional
• 1 1/2 cups cooked and drained lentils

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Saute onions, peppers, celery and let cook until the onions are transparent. About 5 minutes. Be sure to stir frequently.
3. In a food processor pulse the oatmeal about 5 times.
4. Drain tofu well and press with hands until all water is out. In a bowl mash tofu with a fork, combine with cooked onions and peppers.
5. Add 1 cup ketchup- I used ketchup and omitted the tomato mixture on top.
6.  Add the rest of the ingredients until well mixed.
7. Spray small loaf pans or muffin tins with cooking spray. Whatever you prefer to use.
8. Bake for 1 hour until bottoms of muffins are nice and browned. 
9. Let set 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Tips from Verna's Test Kitchen:

1. I like using a small loaf pan  (6" by3 1/2 ") or a large muffin tin for these as they bake in the center much nicer.
2. Using a large ice ceam scoop to fill the muffin tins works wonderful.
3. As long as I am making these, I like to double the recipe. Otherwise I usually find 1/2 block of tofu in my frig that I have to throug away. Hate wasting food.
4. Plus these freeze up great and thaw very quickly.

Enjoy!!