Cheesy Spaghetti-sauce Lentil Loaf

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 40 mins

Ingredients

• 4 cups lentils, cooked or canned
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 250 g aged cheddar cheese, maclarens imperial aged cheddar, crumbled or 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups spaghetti sauce

Recipe

• 1 if using dry lentils, bring to a boil in 5 cups of water. simmer, covered, until very tender, even mushy. drain and set aside.
• 2 in a large bowl, stir together oats, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper. stir in lentils. stir in crumbled cheese, beaten eggs, and spaghetti sauce. pour into a greased 9" x 5" loaf pan.
• 3 bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for about1 hour 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out free of raw egg and the loaf is fairly solid.
• 4 a slice of lentil loaf also makes a good sandwich filling.
• 5 when i want to make a large batch of lentil loaf to freeze for packed lunches, i prepare a double or triple batch of the recipe, and pour it into large muffin cups. i bake the mini-loaves for about 40 minutes or until solid, cool them on cookie racks, and freeze them in a ziploc bag or individual plastic containers. when i leave for work, i grab a lentil-mini loaf and a vegetable side dish and go. these mini-loaves reheat well in a microwave. they are also good served at room temperature.