Oatmeal & Veggies Make a Juicy Meatloaf? Why Yes Indeed!

This meatloaf is a bit of a labor of love with all the fine chopping, but so worth the results. Breadcrumbs are replaced by quick-cook oats, which absorb and plump with finer texture than whole oats. A mix of vegetables contributes flavor and moisture. And the secret sauce -- just BBQ sauce plus ketchup -- makes everything come together marvelously. Serve with homemade mashed potatoes and steamed green beans tossed in garlic butter.

This recipe makes 6 hearty or 8 medium servings.

• INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound lean ground beef (for leaner, lighter meatloaf) or pork (for a more luxurious, juicier meatloaf)

• 3/4 pound ground turkey

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  1 Tablespoon mustard
• 1/2 cup Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (which has high fructose corn syrup, so I'm going to try and make from scratch -- stay tuned for that post!)
  1/2 cup ketchup
  1/4 cup finely chopped celery
  1/4 cup finely diced carrot
  1/2 cup seeded and finely diced zucchini
  1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
  1/2 cup finely chopped onion
  2 garlic cloves, minced 
  3/4 cup quick-cook (NOT instant) oats
  1/2 cup skim milk or unsweetened, unflavored plant milk (I used almond milk with great results)
• 1 egg

METHOD

Preheat oven to 325F.

Mix BBQ sauce and ketchup. Pour half of this mixture (1/2 cup) into a bowl and mix in mustard, salt, and pepper. Place meats at bottom of bowl, then add veggies, then oats, then amended BBQ-ketchup sauce, then oats, then milk and finally egg on top. Mix gently but thoroughly with your hands. Add mixture to a 5"x9" loaf pan, gently pressing down to ensure the pan is filled completely.

Cook for 60 minutes, then top loaf with remaining 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce + ketchup, making sure it does not touch the sides of the pan (if it does, the heat of the pan will burn the sauce). Bake for 30 minutes more. Test with a thermometer that meatloaf is 160F. If top is not caramelized to your preference, broil on low or at a lower rack level for five minutes.

Vegan Cashew and Roast Cauliflower Winter Soup for Omnivores

Need a good creamy winter soup...with no cream? This will fit the bill. I like topping it with strips of cooked ham and either scallions or parsley. I tried both the stovetop and instant pot methods and they're the same except for convenience. Blending results with a Vitamix are, of course, superior.

SERVES: 4-6 people. Four people can make a satisfying lunch of this soup in addition to a salad and some nice sourdough bread, toasted.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups (about 24 oz) frozen cauliflower florets*
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 large stalks celery, chopped
1 Tbsp Miyokos butter
3 cloves garlic, medium size
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1.5 Tbsp Olive oil
1 cup raw cashews
1 quart chicken broth, low salt
1 Yukon Gold potato, medium size, peeled and sliced 1/4" for stovetop method, or left whole for instant pot/microwave method.

Salt to taste
**White pepper to taste

METHOD: Roasting frozen cauliflower (do this while prepping the rest of the soup)
Preheat oven to 425F.
Do NOT thaw cauliflower. Toss straight from package in a bowl with half a tablespoon olive oil, and a 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Spread out in one layer on a cookie sheet and put on middle shelf of oven. Cook for 15 minutes and then check: if there's any dark brown/black spots, you're done. (A little sprinkling of burnt bits is fine.) If it is still mostly pale, toss to flip pieces upside down and cook for another 10 minutes. Once cooked, toss cauliflower into a soup pot.

METHOD: STOVETOP

Put chicken broth, cashews, and potato slices in heavy medium pot (a large or shallow pot will allow too much broth to condensate), cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 20 mins. Pour into soup pot.

Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in a large saute pan on medium heat until butter melts. Add onion and saute for one minute. Add celery and saute for two more minutes, or until both onion and celery have just barely softened. Strip thyme leaves off stems into pan and saute for 30 seconds. Add minced garlic and saute for 30 more seconds. Remove from heat and add to soup pot.

Simmer broth, cashews, onions, celery, thyme, and garlic in soup pot for 10 mins.

Blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

METHOD: INSTANT POT

On manual setting, cook 3 cups broth and cashews at 16 minutes at full pressure. 
While this is cooking and releasing, cook everything else except potato in saute pan. Boil whole peeled potato in remaining cup of broth about 10 mins in microwave (or until fork-tender). Add to rest of soup and blend.

NOTES

*Frozen cauliflower florets come in a strange variety of package sizes: 10, 12, and 16 oz for the small sizes, and 24 oz or 2lbs for the big. 
**Sure, you can use regular black pepper. But white pepper is a much better match for this soup. And it's worth it to get a small container, since you can use it in all sorts of recipes -- broiled fish, summery chicken salads, vegetable soups and pasta dishes -- for a smoother, subtler pepper flavor.