12-dish christmas eve supper meatloaf

Over the past year, whenever I was bored, I searched through the vast majority of the food entries on Wikipedia and came up with either meatloaf recipes or some other type of recipe based on that food item. I stumbled upon this food article that talked about the 12-Dish Christmas Eve Supper, which is the inspiration for this recipe. 

Now granted, some of the ingredients are merely parts of some of the dishes served like poppy seeds, which are usually turned into poppy seed milk. Personally, I don't like poppy seeds, so the best substitute is caraway seeds.

Wheat berry cereal itself isn't traditionally served(they're in this traditional dessert known as kutia) but I couldn't find wheat berries other than in cereal form on Amazon. 

Bread of some sort is also served so the breadcrumbs represent the bread served.

Other ingredients in this meatloaf I had to improvise, like the fish sticks. Fish sticks itself aren't traditionally served but the fish inside them is. I couldn't find any carp where I was, nor similar fish like pike, but I figured that it's technically possible to make carp fish sticks, hence the use of the fish sticks. 

Plus I had to take into account that eggs, milk, or meat aren't allowed in this type of supper because of the Nativity Fast, hence the use of applesauce in lieu of eggs and only using the cabbage in the cabbage rolls and not the beef inside. Of course, I forgot to take into account that cream sauce is technically dairy but other than that oversight, this meatloaf is like these 12 dishes in one meatloaf, kind of. 

You're going to love this meatloaf if you love herring, cabbage, and onions because that's pretty much what were the predominant flavors in this meatloaf, which looked like chopped liver or even cat food(!). 

My dad liked the meatloaf and this was his first time trying herring. That's pretty much all he had to say about that. 

HELPFUL LINKS:

Cabbage rolls: www.amazon.com/Meal-Mart-Amazing-Stuffed-Cabbage/dp/B008M9ZFKG/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1513451078&sr=8-1&

Fig compote: www.amazon.com/Mussini-Balsamic-Vinegar-Compote-Ounces/dp/B00BKLDDOI/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1513450682&sr=8-1&

Wheat berry cereal: www.amazon.com/Uncle-Sam-Cereal-Original-Flaxseed/dp/B0078DQMH2/ref=sr_1_7_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1513450659&sr=8-7&

You will need: 

For the cooking equipment: 

A large bowl
Nonstick cooking spray
A lasagna pan

For the meatloaf: 

2/3 tbsp. onion powder
2/3 cups unsweetened applesauce(in lieu of eggs)
4 oz. drained, canned Portabella mushrooms(dish #1)
3 cooked pierogies(dish #2)
The cabbage from 2 cabbage rolls(dish #3)(see HELPFUL LINKS)
8 fish sticks(dish #4)
1/2 cup sauerkraut(dish #5)
1/4 cup fig compote(dish #6)(see HELPFUL LINKS)
1/4 cup borscht(dish #7)
Pinch of poppy or caraway seeds(dish #8)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
8 gingerbread men(dish #9)
1 cup wheat berry cereal(dish #10)(see HELPFUL LINKS)
16 oz. herring in cream sauce(dish #11)
Plain breadcrumbs to hold the meatloaf together(dish #12)

1. Put the onion powder, applesauce, and mushrooms into a large bowl. Break apart the pierogies, cabbage from the cabbage rolls, and fish sticks into pieces and put the pieces into the bowl.
2. Add the sauerkraut, fig compote, borscht, poppy or caraway seeds, salt, and black pepper to the bowl. Crumble up the gingerbread men and put that into the bowl as well.
3. Put the wheat berry cereal into a Ziploc bag or food processor and crush up the cereal before putting it into the bowl, along with the herring. 
4. Mix all the ingredients up until you get a firm meatloaf. You're going to need to add the breadcrumbs to the meatloaf mixture to get a loaf shape so add that to the mixture too. Mix again until you get a firm meatloaf mixture. 
5. Spray a lasagna pan with nonstick cooking spray. Form 2 loaves from the meatloaf mixture. 
6. Bake the meatloaves in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for 15-20 minutes. 

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