Not necessarily healthy

Not everything vegetarian is tasteless and good for you.  Some vegetarian dishes are splendidly yummy and not necessarily healthy.  Now that we have that out of the way, let's just focus on the yummy factor and ignore the not necessarily healthy bit.

First, a question:  What do sautéed onions, cottage cheese, and Special K cereal have in common?  You wouldn't think that they would have anything in common, right?  Well, I can promise you that they do have something in common and it may not be what you are expecting.

When I think of an after church home-cooked meal, no vegetarian table would  be complete without Special K Loaf.  You have that puzzled look on your face right now, don't you.  Never heard of it?  Well, let me explain.  Don't laugh until you've heard me out.  If you've never tried it, you don't know if it's yummy or not.

Some people will try to tell you that Special K Loaf is like a vegetarian meatloaf.  It is NOT like meatloaf - vegetarian or otherwise.  It isn't like anything.  It is unique.  What seems to be a random collection of ingredients turns into a delicious entrée.  Who would guess that cottage cheese, eggs, nuts, butter, onions and breakfast cereal would co-habitate and morph into an entrée?  Mm-mm-mm!  It does.  It most certainly does!

Let's talk about shape; I don't make mine in a loaf shape.  I use a nice large glass casserole baking pan...mainly because I always double the recipe since it disappears so fast.  And what doesn't disappear on round one, most certainly disappears on round two (as sandwiches).

Next, everyone thinks they have "the" recipe for Special K Loaf. I promise you, they are all wrong.  The recipe I am sharing here is "the" recipe.

Mrs Brodeur ran the cafeteria at my high school and provided most of the tried and true recipes that it served.  Don't laugh.  This was no ordinary cafeteria at no ordinary school.  This school was in Singapore, at church headquarters.   Missionaries sent their teens from all over Asia, Southern Asia, and a few from Africa to this school.  The school, teachers, administrators, and fellow students were our "family" away from home.  The very wise administration of the school knew that if they kept the students happy, the parents would be happy.  So, they made sure that our cafeteria served up the best home-style food that could be found outside of our homes.  Mrs Brodeur was talented, organized, fun, and much-loved by those who knew her.  I suspect many of us alumni have her recipes tucked away in our recipe boxes.  That woman knew how to make meals delicious!

Without further ado, here is "THE" recipe for Special K Loaf.
 

Special K Loaf

INGREDIENTS

5	eggs, lightly beaten
2	cups cottage cheese
1	cup ground walnuts*
1	stick butter (8 T)
1	medium onion, minced
3	pkts George Washington Broth** (brown)
6	cups Special K cereal

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs together with cottage cheese and nuts.

2. In a skillet, melt butter and then add minced onion.  Sauté over medium heat until onion is translucent and starting to caramelize. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

3. When onion mixture has cooled, add it to the egg mixture.  Stir to blend.  Then add the Special K cereal.  Stir until well combined.

4. Spread evenly in an 8” x 8” glass baking dish***.  Bake in a 325° oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
 

*You can use pecans instead of walnuts, if desired (I don’t desire, but the husband does).

**George Washington Broth is like a loose bouillon powder.  It is vegetarian.  You can substitute beef bouillon cubes, if you prefer.  Or another good vegetarian option is to use “Better Than Bouillon” (vegetarian) paste.

***As mentioned above, I always double this recipe.  So, I sometimes put mine in 9” x 13” glass pan (Pyrex makes a nice one), but more often I use a 10” x 15” glass pan so that the “loaf” is spread out a little thinner (which equals more crust – the best part, in my opinion).