After what turned out to be a pretty epic weekend of seeing Damien Jurado and North Highlands live, attending the Mermaid Parade on Coney Island and jumping into the Atlantic Ocean, a slow Sunday has been a welcomed change.  Plus it’s hot (again!)  I know my friends in Washington have been suffering through an epically bad start to summer, so I won’t discuss the weather too much… but I seriously considered buying waters for the homeless dudes passed out in the Key Foods parking lot today.  Perhaps I should have followed through on that thought.
For whatever reason, I thought that a hot June Sunday was a perfect time to whip up a vegetarian meatloaf again.  I made this a few years back with my mom’s recipe and forced Nate and Hunter to eat what I referred to as an “American Dinner.”  Meatloaf, baked potato, broccoli.  If I remember correctly, it came out pretty well.
This time around I decided to class it up a bit, by making a Hasselback Potato and some sauteed Brussels Sprouts.  Emma just returned from Italy, so what better way to welcome her home?!


Vegetarian Meatloaf (approximate measurements)
1 Gimme Lean “Beef”1 cup rolled oats1 egg1/2 onion, chopped small1/2 cup yellow mustard1/2 cup ketchup 2 tsp garlic powder1 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (this may vary.) Mix all ingredients in a bowl and press into a rectangular loaf pan. Bake until the mix firms up (about 45-60 mins.) Remove from oven, and top with BBQ sauce mix:
For the top:1 cup BBQ sauce1/2 cup ketchup1/2 cup brown sugar
Put back in oven for another 5-10 mins until sauce is bubbly. Remove from oven, cut and serve.I know that it may seem strange to make something that is so traditionally a MEAT dish, but my mom’s meatloaf was delicious growing up and sometimes I miss it. 


Hasselback PotatoesI kept seeing various versions of these on different blogs and figured I would give them a try.  It’s a little bit fancier looking than a plain baked potato, and I whipped up some dill Greek yogurt to accompany it.  Emma wanted to point out that the dill sauce was her favorite part.
1 potato per serving1 tbls olive oilsalt, pepper & garlic powder to taste
Thinly slice potato crosswise, being careful not to cut all the way through the potato. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Place in a baking pan and put in a 350 degree oven for 40-60 mins.  Rub with a bit of butter ever 20 mins or so.
Dill Greek Yogurt topping1 container non-fat Greek yogurt (plain)2 tbls dill (I used to dry)juice from 1/2 lemonsalt & pepper to tasteMix ingredients and pour a couple of tablespoons over the cooked Hasselback potato.
Sauteed Brussels Sprouts 2 cups Brussels Sprouts, chopped in half2 tbls olive oilsalt and pepper to tasteHeat olive oil in a pan and add sprouts, sprinkling with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.  Cook at a medium/high heat until tender/brown.
Perhaps it was ill-advised to run a 400 degree oven when it’s brutal outside (and maybe if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be cooling myself down with an icepack right now) but it’s too late for regrets now!