Lentil Rice "Meat"loaf

Yesterday was probably the coldest day of the season so far. When I got home I was craving something warm, but easy and quick to prepare. Luckily, I had a package of pre-cooked lentils from Trader Joe's. I found some recipes online for a lentil/rice "meat"loaf and decided to try them. 

If you don't have pre-cooked lentils on hand this is still very easy, but it will take a bit longer to prepare. A note on the seasonings: you really can be creative and do what you like here. I used marjoram and basil, but you can also try different combinations. Taste the mixture before baking to make sure the lentils are flavorful, but you really can't go wrong.

2 cups lentils (pre-cooked)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon onion powder

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 teaspoon marjoram 

1/2 teaspoon basil

1 1/2 cups cooked rice (I used brown rice)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook rice.

Thoroughly mash the cooked lentils until they are half mashed.

Sauté the garlic, onion powder, and spices over medium heat in olive oil for a few minutes until nice and fragrant. Add the mashed lentils, rice, salt, bbq sauce stir well. Warm the mixture for a minute or two.

Gently press the mixture into a loaf pan with parchment paper on the bottom.

Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool slightly before serving, as this will help the loaf firm up.