I Won't Be Able To Eat Until Monday

Ooof, I just ate waaay too much. I think my indiscretion had something to do with the fact that I missed lunch today. (That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it.) But I gotta say, it was a very tasty meal.

Tonight I made Millet Loaf with Onion Gravy, served with a small tossed salad, mashed potatoes and buttered beets. Millet Loaf was 'bout my husband's favorite meal back in our vegetarian days. Even though we now eat meat (but only raised on our homestead or "happy" meat we buy from reliable sources), he frequently asks for Millet Loaf.

So here goes the recipe. It's a good substitute for meat loaf and is certainly more economical to make.

MILLET LOAF

1 cup cooked millet
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3/4 cup finely ground walnuts
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 cup oatmeal
2 tablespoons catsup
1 cup grated cheddar or colby cheese
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk

To cook the millet, bring 1-1/3 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan.

Then add 1/3 cup millet. Simmer with lid on saucepan for about 20 minutes. At the end of the 20 minutes cooking today, there was still a little water left in the pan so I took the cover off and let it cook a couple of minutes more.

This will give you an ample cup of cooked millet. It will look like cooked rice, but round instead of oval.

I had about two tablespoons more than shown in the cup measure above but I just threw that into the recipe anyway.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Then press into an oiled loaf pan.

The cooked loaf will hold together better if you do truly p-r-e-s-s it into the pan so I get in there with the flat of my hand and put a little pressure on the mixture.

The mixture looks fairly light in color but will darken (more like meat loaf) in color as it bakes.

Bake in a 350° oven for one hour.

While the Millet Loaf is baking, you can make:

ONION GRAVY

Saute 1 medium onion, thinly sliced, in 1/4 cup melted butter in medium saucepan until tender. Don't let the onion brown.

Stir in 1/4 cup flour and mix well. Then gradually stir in about 14 ounces beef broth. (If you use canned beef broth, it will probably only be about 10-11 ounces. Just add more water to equal the 14 ounces.)

Then add 1/4 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet, and a good sprinkle of black pepper.

Simmer until ready to serve, adding more water if gravy gets too thick.

Millet is rich in minerals and contains a higher amount of vitamins than wheat, oats, rye, barley, or rice. I like it a lot and use it in many different ways. If you've never had it before, you might want to give it a try.