Veggie Meatloaf

I can’t think of a funny Meatloaf anecdote – sure, he had moobs and cried real man tears in Fight Club, and Bat out of Hell was the soundtrack in my rocker formative years, but I’m stumped to make a joke … the fact is, this is some hardcore meatloaf (from J’s repertoire!) – pretty much half veggies, half meat = guilt free + healthy. It made 2 medium sized loafs, so the effort paid off nicely. I did the veggie portion the day before, and assembled and baked the next day. As irresistible as the grandly silly, operatic, adolescent, aforementioned album.

1 medium onion
3 inches leek (green part)
1 carrot
1 parsnip
1 medium beet
4 inches celery heart
3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Heinz chili sauce
Basil, oregano, handful Italian parsley (I used fresh thyme, parsley and dried oregano)
3 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
700 g (1.5 lbs) extra lean ground beef
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 c fresh bread crumbs

Place the first 6 ingred in a food processor & process until the texture resembles minced veggies. Saute the mixture in some olive oil for several mins (along w/ the minced garlic), then add the sauces, basil, oregano, and some s & p. Saute for another couple of mins, then remove from heat & stir in the parsley; set aside to cool. Once it's cooled a bit, combine the sauteed veggies w/ the sausages, ground beef, eggs & bread crumbs. Place the mixture in the loaf tins, spoon some more chili sauce on top, and place in a 350 oven for 1 hour or so.