Bruschetta-Mozzarella Meatloaf/Veggie-loaf

Firstly, thank you all so much for you incredibly kind, compassionate, and uplifting comments on my last post... I am so grateful for your friendship, and your inspiration...

Zach just left for Christmas vacation in Louisiana, where I'll join him a week from now. In the meantime, I'm still in Georgia, as I have to work nearly every night this week, including the night shift on Christmas Eve. Lest I sound like I'm complaining, though, I am truly more than happy to work on Christmas Eve - our children are of the four-legged, furry variety, and thus I'm content to take the holiday shift in order that my co-workers with kids can spend Christmas Eve with their children. Additionally, at the end of this long, work filled week, I can look forward to hopping on a plane, being reunited with Zach, and having a few days of vacation to spend back in Louisiana! Since I started my now not-so-new job these are the first official vacation days I've taken, so, needless to say, I'm thoroughly excited.

In the meantime, though, I'm at home by my lonesome, missing Zach... I'm also thinking ahead to January, when I'll have to miss Zach for an entire month, as he'll be out of town on a rural family medicine clinical rotation. Sorrowful sigh... I'm trying to think positively and constructively, though, and as I promised Zach I would fix him lots of homemade meals he can keep in his apartment freezer for his month out of town, I decided to start working on Zach's freezer-suppers right away!

Since my friend Jen has told me many times how well meatloaves keep in the freezer, the very first dish I fixed this morning (Zach had to get up at 5AM for his long drive, so I decided to make the most of the early morning...) was the glorious meatloaf recipe recently posted by Kristen of EatingRD! Kristen writes such an incredible blog, filled with fantastic information about nutrition and fitness along with gorgeous photos of her luscious, healthful recipes, and as soon as I read her meatloaf recipe yesterday my instantaneous response was "I must make that immediately!" Kristen actually stuffed hers with mozzarella cheese, making a gloriously dramatic presentation, but as I wasn't sure how well the stuffed center would fare in the freezer I just grated the cheese and stirred it in with the rest of the mixture, and the little bit I sampled before whisking the rest off in Ziploc bags was dreamily delicious! I also fixed a veggie version, using Morningstar Farms soy crumbles (I'm sure TVP would work beautifully as well), and the veggie version simply needed an extra egg to hold the loaf together and emerged every bit as scrumptious! One batch of the recipe makes 3 large-ish loaves or 4 to 6 mini loaves, so between the veg and the non-veg batch I now have 6 big loaves tucked away in the freezer for Zach! Thank you Kristen, for this fabulous recipe - and I know Zach thanks you as well!

So, for now, I count the hours until I can see Zach again next week... and in January, while we're miles apart once more, I will be comforted by the knowledge that he has nourishing meals, made just for him with love, awaiting him every evening, as a little whisper from home...

Bruschetta-Mozzarella Meatloaf/Veggie-loaf

(Adapted from Kristen's amazing recipe...)

2 lbs lean ground beef OR 2 lbs vegetarian soy crumbles, such as Morningstar Farms
12 oz. bruschetta mix (Kristen used Trader Joe's brand, and of course I agree with her... :-)
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 egg, beaten (if you're using ground beef) OR 2 eggs, beaten (if you're using the veggie soy crumbles)
1 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated low-fat cheddar cheese
3 T dried minced onion
2 T Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
6 T ketchup

~ Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.
~ In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef or soy crumbles, the bruschetta mix, oats, egg(s), mozzarella cheese, and cheddar cheese until well combined.
~ Stir in the dried onion, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.
~ Shape the mixture into 3 oval loaves on the baking sheet, pressing gently but firmly with your hands to make a tight loaf.
~ Spread the ketchup across the tops of the loaves.
~ Bake until the inside temperature reaches 155 degrees for the beef version, or until the veggie version is golden brown on the outside and heated through on the inside. Remove the loaves from the oven, and let them sit for 10 minutes to allow the inner temperature to rise just a bit more.
~ Serve warm...