I mean, you can if you want to, of course...but I wouldn't recommend it.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 12 ounces crimini mushrooms, chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon ground sage
• 1 1/4 cups cooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 1 cup oat bran
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons prepared mustard

    DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the mushrooms, onions, and bell pepper; cook until the onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle sage over the vegetables, and cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes more. Transfer vegetables to a large mixing bowl.
3. Stir the rice, walnuts, onion soup mix, oat bran, wheat germ, egg whites, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard into the mushroom mixture until thoroughly blended. Spoon into prepared loaf pan, pressing down mixture with a spatula to flatten top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Yes, we had this for dinner tonight and basically had to force it down. My search for a decent vegetarian "meat" loaf continues...

In fairness, I did just read some very positive reviews of this recipe, so maybe I did something wrong? It sounded good, in theory. I don't know, though. One cup of wheat germ, one cup of oat bran and one-and-a-quarter cups of brown rice does seem a little excessive in my humble opinion. Anyway, I am sure diaper changes will be fun in this house for the next couple of days.