"Meat"loaf update. . . .

In attempting to reduce my food and grocery costs (I've only spent about $35 this MONTH on groceries so far---see my zero based budget for updates) I decided to try TVP, or textured vegetable protein, in place of expensive (and environmentally unfriendly) meat.

Last night I made my first 'meat' loaf from TVP, and it wasn't bad! It wasn't as tasty and juicy as the meatloaf my dad makes (and the real meat meatloaves I've made in the past), but it was definitely edible, and I'll make this recipe again, with some tweaking. For example, I added some onion soup mix to this recipe and it just made the entire loaf a little too salty for my taste, so next time I may leave that out. Also, I used an entire can of tomato sauce instead of catsup, and the mealoaf is RED. Really, really, RED. Kind of strange looking---so maybe a half a can will do, in the future.

Here's the recipe I used, from: Veggiedaze

"MEAT" LOAF

1 cup oatmeal (coarse grind is best)
1 cup TVP 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (used seasoned bread crumbs instead)
1/2 cup minced celery (didn't have this, so left it out)
1/3 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced parsley or 2 generouse tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 clove minced garlic
1 cup grated mozarella cheese (didn't have this: used cheddar instead)
2 beaten eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. catsup (used an entire can of tomato sauce instead)
enough water to make a slightly softer than meatloaf mixture (didn't do this at all)

Mix everything together in a bowl and let stand for 1/2 hour. Turn mixture into a greased loaf pan and top with more ketchup. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F. Let stand 5 minutes then slice. Is really good cold on sandwiches.