Lentil loaf from Dr. Esselstyn

We liked this and it is great left over and in sandwiches. We served this with mashed white potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes and string beans. This was very tasty and we used BQ sauce--the Kraft Honey kind which made it fantastic (yes it has high fructose corn syrup...can't find any locally without it). My son thought, "ribs baking, it can't be! " ha. Mine did not come out loaf like--I may have had a bit more water from the cooking in mine--but I liked it because it was very moist and full of flavor.

This is also good on linguine --hmmm barbecue linguine--the best of both worlds ?

1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed (NOTE: RED LENTILS WORK MUCH BETTER IN THIS -mashable)
2 medium onions, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
6 mushrooms, chopped
veg water or water (I used dry red wine)
2 cups packed fresh spinach, chopped
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (better to DRAIN off the liquid)
2 cups brown rice, cooked (I was a bit short on this so added some cooked rice cereal
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp Mrs. Dash's garlic and herb seasoning blend
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 cup of barbecue sauce or ketchup (I think the bq sauce makes this dish--I like extra sauce too when serving)
I added Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (after cooking lentils) . Cook lentils in 2 1/2 cups water until tender, then partially mash lentils in some of the cooking water. (I am not sure I used this amount of water)

2. Stir-fry onions and mushrooms in broth, or water or wine. After they soften add spinach and cook covered until the spinach wilts.

3. Add onions and mushrooms, tomatoes, rice, garlic, sage, Mrs. Dash, and marjoram to lentils.

4. Press into a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and spread with barbecue sauce on top. NOTE: This recipe actually makes enough for the 9 by 5 and another smaller pan.

5. Bake 45-60 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes, or linguine or in a sandwich or however.