Improvisational Cooking: Lamb Meat Loaf

I love to cook but I hate using a recipe. I always thought it stemmed from my previous work as a research scientist. A science experiment is basically just a recipe in which all the ingredients are toxic, and coming home after a day of work to follow another set of numbered instructions was just irritating, so more often than not I found myself just winging it. Now I find that cooking is a great opportunity to practice some creativity.
 
I recently checked out "The Improvisational Cook" by Sally Schneider from my local library and the following is the first dish it inspired.

I love ground lamb, and after reading Ms. Schneider's section on meat loaf I decided to try a meat loaf with lamb as a base. I had recently made lavender infused canola oil and was wanting to try it in a lamb dish. Ms. Schneider recommends using a dairy ingredient and I have always thought soft goat cheese is a great combo with lamb. The recipe follows:

1 lb ground lamb
2 Tablespoons lavender oil
2 egg whites
1/4 cup goat cheese
1 cup bread crumbs

I stirred the oil, egg whites, and cheese together with a fork until the mixture was smooth. Then I incorporated first the lamb and then the bread crumbs using my hands. (it's worth putting the lamb out an hour or two ahead to warm up so you don't freeze your hands doing this). Once it was smooth and uniform I formed the loaf and baked it at 350 degrees. With my typical lack of foresight I did not time how long it was in there. I will guess about 45 minutes? If anyone knows a good way to make sure meat loaf is done without just cutting into, please let me know!
 

I served this with mashed potatoes and green beans.

I really liked this, and so did my husband (until the baby is a little older he's my only outside reviewer!). It gets well away from the stereotypical cafeteria meat loaf with the lamb and subtle lavender flavor. My one problem was how greasy and rich it was. The lamb was pretty fatty on its own and the extra oil from the lavender oil and cheese certainly didn't help. Since it was so rich anyway I might consider cutting down on the cheese next time. I'm not sure how to get away from the lavender oil as I don't have any idea how fresh lavender is used in cooking. I might try substituting half a pound of pork in to make it a bit lighter. Mostly I would like to try incorporating a vegetable, but I can't think what. My first thought was carrots, probably because that's my go to filler vegetable. Maybe spinach? Any other thoughts are welcome!

Over all I liked this and would definitely try it again. I also like it because you can make a lot at once, and being a new mom I'm the left overs queen! It's always fun when a kitchen experiment turns out.