BBQ BurgersI had these a long time ago at Garfield's. I really loved them. Of course the Boca burgers used there are not vegan and they cost $8 plus a drink. So. I came home and started making them. I do this with alot of burgers I used to go to the Restaurants for. Alot of them are super easy and alot cheaper to make at home. Plus you can cut out some of the calories, make them mostly organic, and make them vegan!
What you need
Boca's Vegan Burgers -This is the brand they use. But they don't use a vegan version.
1 Recipe of Onion rings- Listed below
1 Recipe of BBQ- Listed below
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Olive oil
Kaiser Buns or Bread
Poor small amount of oil into your frying pan. De-thaw burgers in microwave. Then fry the burgers up. nicely. Vegan burgers don't have really any fat in them to make them brown So the oil will make them brown nicely. Now you can add a little BBQ sauce to each burger and caramelize it or just take it out of the skillet. At the restaurant they don't caramelize the burgers with BBQ sauce but it is really yummy. Toast your buns, with butter in the skillet or plain in the toaster. Put some yummy BBQ sauce on the bun, then add the burger, lettuce, and tomatoes, and don't forget to put some onion rings on the sammie. I also put a little BBQ sauce in a small cup for dipping. If you don't want to toast your bread before you make the sammie its also a great Idea to put this sammie in a panini press. It is really yummy!
Homemade Onion RingsWhen you go to the store and purchase onion rings and feed them to your family it is hard to tell exactly what all is added to them. When I do purchase them I purchase organic* and that costs alot for just a few rings. So I have started making my own. They are really easy to make but if you are going to make a big quantity it can be a little time consuming. I make them in advance when I have time and freeze them in batches. That way all I have to do is grab a bag and either pop them in the oven or fry them. But with this homemade version unlike the store versions there is no oil from pre-frying. So alot less calories.
*Conventional Onions do not have alot of pesticide traces but the other items in the onion rings are not always the best. And some of those items do hold pesticides. So that is why I purchase or Organic onion rings.
All you needA couple baking sheets or cooling racks
1 Medium onion Per person - This make a good amount
A couple cups of flour
A couple cups of Bread crumbs
And some non-dairy milk. I used almond milk.
And any seasoning you want to add to the flour for extra taste.
Very easy. No measuring. Just enough to role the onion rings around in. Don't put to much in your bread crumb bowl at once though. If the bread crumbs start clumping they will not stick to your onions any more.
So slice the onions in sections so that it makes rings.
Place them in a bowl and set aside.
Put the flour, bread crumbs and milk in separate bowls for dredging. Place the onions in flour then milk. after the milk put them into the bread crumbs get a good coating. Then put them back into the milk and bread crumbs again. Lay the ring aside and do the same thing with all the rings. I lay the on a baking sheet or cooling rack.
After you are finished. Leave them in a single layer on the baking sheet to freeze. It will not take long for them to freeze and they will keep at least 3 months in an air tight container.
The left over ends I chop up and place back in the fridge so I can use them that week. Or you can freeze them to be used later.
To cook these fresh preheat the oven to 425F and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Watch them for the last 5 minutes. Depending on the amount of bread crumbs and the thickness of the ring it will take various baking times. You can bake the rings the same way from the frozen state. The first couple times you bake them. watch them to make sure you do not burn them. Turn your oven down to 375F if you oven is a "hot"
oven... These do come out tasty but they do not have any oil. So they can be a little dry. I like them this way though. If you want you can use oil spray and spray them before you put them into the oven. This way they do fry a little from the oil.
To fry just heat oil. Test to make sure it is hot. I like to use a wooden spoon. Place the handle in the hot oil. If the oil bubbles its ready for the food. Ok put the fresh onion rings in for 3 minutes. If frozen add on extra minute. Just take them out when brown. try not to leave them to long. They will soak in a good amount of oil.
Organic BBQ SauceMy mother has always made this recipe. Not sure were it came from. I do remember she used to put on some kind of meat when I was little but for the life of me I can't remember what. Lol. I know. That is strange but it has been that long since I have seen her make what ever it was. But I do know what it wasn't on. Who knows. lol, anyways.
I now make it from time to time to freeze and have on hand. This way when I can't get a simple organic BBQ sauce at the grocery store I have some already made. Plus you know exactly what is going into this BBQ sauce.
So this again is quick and easy. This is a double batch. So just chop it is half for just one dinner.
1 Cup Organic Ketchup
1 Cup Organic Agave ( It calls for Kero syrup which is corn syrup, you take your pick, Make sure the brand you use is thick)
1/2 Cup Vegan worchestershire, Like Annies or the Wizard one
1/4 to 1/2 cup Organic apple cider vinegar (Depends on the taste you like)
2 Tbsp Organic Chili powder
Combine all ingredients into a pot. Heat till it bubble. Stir. Turn back to a simmer. Let cook for a few minutes while stirring. Take off heat and place in fridge to cool. It will thicken back up. If you want a really thick sauce while it is still on the stove add a little cornstarch. This will make it pretty thick.
- Tip put it in an ice tray and then pop it out into a baggy. Then you have individual serving sizes.
BBQ Burgers
Place them in a bowl and set aside. 
Put the flour, bread crumbs and milk in separate bowls for dredging. Place the onions in flour then milk. after the milk put them into the bread crumbs get a good coating. Then put them back into the milk and bread crumbs again. Lay the ring aside and do the same thing with all the rings. I lay the on a baking sheet or cooling rack.
After you are finished. Leave them in a single layer on the baking sheet to freeze. It will not take long for them to freeze and they will keep at least 3 months in an air tight container.
We finally made another Whole Foods & Trader Joes Run. We took Chey with us for a nice outing and then made 2 quick stops. Alot faster then I normally go through those stores... And of course that leads to getting something ... with..... yuck..... animal secretions in it.... I acidently picked up some jars of Trader Joes Vodka Pasta Sauce w/o noticing they had cheese in them.... That is so annoying. Not just one or two but.... four of them.... What the heck am I supposed to do with it now...?
But I have noticed the more we go to Trader Joes the more we get there. They have really good prices. Pittsburgh has better prices to begin with on all the Organic and Vegan stuff but... Trader Joes are by far the lowest I have ever seen. They really have great prices on Soy Ice Cream... We get a good amount everytime we go. We also stock up on bread items there. But here is Trader Joes List