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1
In a medium pot, boil the 2.25 cups of water and the 1/2 bullion cube over hight heat. Use a spoon to breakdown and dissolve the cube. (Or you can just use 2.25 cups of vegetable stock, I just found that the vegetable bullion had a meatloaf-ier flavor)
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2
Preheat oven to 400.
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3
Once the water is boiling, add the dry lentils, reduce heat to low, and cover. Do not over-cook the lentils, they will turn to liquid mush! The directions on my package said 12 minutes, but check them at about 9 minutes. You don't want them to have any crunch left, but you don't want mush. Remove from heat and set aside.
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4
Heat 2 tbs of the olive oil over medium heat in a large pan.
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5
Add 1/2 of the chopped red onion, the garlic, the bell pepper, 1 cup of the chopped mushrooms, and the grated carrot to the pan.
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6
Saute for about 5 minutes. Add the parsley and spices and heat another minute or until all the vegetables are soft. Remove from heat.
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7
In a large bowl, or right in the pan if it's big enough, combine the sauteed veggie mixture with the tomato paste, oats, egg replacers, remaining 1/2 of the chopped onion, remaining 1 cup of chopped mushrooms, and lentils. Stir everything until evenly combined. Give it a taste to see if it needs any seasoning adjustment.
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8
Take a medium baking sheet and grease it with remaining tbs of olive oil. (You can also use a loaf pan.) Scoop all of the loaf mixture and mold it into a loaf shape on the pan. You can make it kind of tall, because it will settle down as it bakes.
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9
In a small bowl, combine the 1 tbs tomato paste, brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup, and stir well. Pour this over the top of the loaf, coating the loaf evenly, and especially piling it high on top, so it can drip all around.
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10
Pop your loaf in the oven for about 35-40 minutes. When you take it out, let it rest for about 8 minutes before slicing.
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11
This was particularly good the next day, as it was easier to slice after being refrigerated overnight. Put a slice on a crusty roll and toast it in the toaster oven for a seriously yummy meatloaf sandwich.
