Vegetarian Meatloaf with Sweet Potatoes and Asparagus

I love the vegetarian meatloaf in this recipe and wanted to pair it with a vegetable and a starch dish to make a full meal.  Usually, I just use frozen veggies and mashed potatoes or bread, but I wanted to try something new.  I found recipes for Orange Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes (I really like sweet potatoes) and Cheesy Miracle Asparagus.  Overall, the meal was okay, with each component adding or detracting from the whole thing.

The meatloaf was tasty as usual even though I forgot the ketchup (of which, I am a huge fan).  I followed the recipe (except I used Morningstar Farms burger crumbles).  I think that I have added more BBQ sauce in the past - which tastes good.  This time, no flavor was overpowering and it had a really good texture to it.  In terms of consistency, it did fall apart a little, but that certainly does not affect the taste!

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/bbq-meatloaf-bake-66208.aspx

I used frozen asparagus since fresh is still a tad expensive.  They were still crisp and tender.  I used Sargento Cheddar Cheese (a mixture of different types of cheddar) and had to add about 1/2 cup additional cheese because it tasted too much like Miracle Whip.  Some people may like that, but not me.  Next time, I may try mayo.  With the additional cheese, though, the dressing tasted good.  I may also try over other veggies.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/cheesy-miracle-asparagus-92082.aspx

I hate to give a bad review, but the Sweet Potatoes were not good.  This a big disappointment since they took a pretty long time to make - and peeling them after they are cooked adds even more time because you have to be careful not to burn yourself.  I'm not sure what exactly caused the unpleasant taste (it wasn't the Jim Beam bourbon that I used), but it may have been the orange zest.  I do not plan to make these again since there are so many other sweet potato recipes out there.