Meatless Monday: "Meatloaf," Kale Chips, Lentils, Chard and Roasted Beets

Meatless Monday is a nonprofit initiative of The Monday Campaigns. Their goal is to help reduce meat consumption by 15% to improve personal and planetary health.  Each week I share meatless recipes I've tried from cookbooks and online.  You can see past Meatless Monday posts by clicking here.

Roasted Beets with Lentil, Chard and Tomatoes

This was the first time I've roasted beets, and was surprised to discover that they're crazy simple to make.  I wrapped each beet in foil and baked them at 425 degrees for about an hour (I put them in a bread pan so that their juices wouldn't drip all over the oven). When they were done, I peeled and sliced them, and served them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Yum.

We had the beets with a *very* modified version of the Whole Foods recipe, Collards, with Lentils, Tomatoes and Indian Spices.  I didn't have all of the ingredients the recipe called for, and I mis-read the directions, so here's how I made it:

Lentil, Chard and Tomato Yumminess
Servings: lots!

1 shallot, minced
4 (or more!) cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons garam masala
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cup red lentils
1 bunch swiss chard

Salt, pepper and  red pepper flakes to taste

Simmer shallot and garlic in 1/2 cup water till shallots are soft.  Stir in garam masala, and cook a little bit.  Add tomatoes, lentils, and 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and add chard. Cover and simmer till lentils are soft, 30-45 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

Thanksgiving Meatless Meatloaf and Sauteed Carrots

I also made my first meatless meatloaf this week from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's recipe, Thanksgiving Meatless Meatloaf. I served it with rice and Ina Garten's Sauteed Carrots.  It wasn't quite the texture I was hoping for (mine turned out more mushy than loafy), but the flavors were awesome. It may have been mushy because I couldn't find the quinoa flakes that the recipe called for, so I used rolled oats instead.  I really liked it the next day in a "meatloaf" sandwich.

Kale Chips

My final new cooking adventure was to make kale chips for the first time using Melissa d'Arabian's Crispy Kale "Chips" recipe on Foodnetwork.com. Very tasty, but they really shrink down. Next time I'll make chips from 2-3 bunches of kale, rather than just one.

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What yummy meatless dishes did you make this week?

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