Open Face BBQ Cheeseburgers

I am home! I just arrived home following 9 (or was it 10) days away. Oh, how I have missed my kitchen...and my very own bed. I actually made these burgers right before we left for Indiana. We were at the end of our 2 week grocery shopping cycle and I was trying to come up with what to make for dinner, without running the the grocery and purchasing ingredients that would spoil in the fridge while we were away. I was thinking of a quick meal of burgers on the grill, but we were out of buns. The box of Texas toast in my freezer kept catching my eye, so I came up with these Open Faced BBQ burgers to use up ingredients that I already had in my fridge. They were a big hit!



Originally, I had planned for my husband to fire up the Weber and grill these out on the deck. However, on this day my ambitious, DIY husband decided that he was going to change the oil in my mini van before the road trip...in our garage...for the very first time. Why pay for an oil change, when it's SO very easy to change your own, right? I didn't doubt that he could do it, I just wondered if he had all of the right tools. First, he headed off to purchase an oil pan and oil from Walmart. A little while later he realized that he needed to head out to purchase the correct wrench to unscrew the oil drain. Unfortunately, the drain bolt had been stripped and was stuck. Those oil change guys at the shop use really powerful tools to screw them back in, don'tcha know? When it was time to fire the coals for our burgers, my husband was out (trip #3 to the store) finding a special bit to conform to the bolt so that he could loosen it with his power drill. I'm not going to pretend that I wasn't getting annoyed at the amount time this "simple" project was taking at this point. Remember on The Cosby Show when Heath was always trying to do home repairs and Claire kept encouraging him to call a professional? I can relate. Of course, I know better than to ask a question like, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" to add fuel to the fire of his frustration. However, I wasn't in a logical mood at this point in our day and I didn't hold back. You can probably imagine the tone of "Mr. Fix-its" response. I just bit my tongue and walked back into the house. To my husband's credit, the oil did get changed (After 3 trips to the store and consulting on online "how to" guide). I ended up cooking our burgers under my oven broiler. I sprinkled them with seasoned salt before broiling.



While the burgers broiled, I sauteed some sweet onions in a little olive oil.



Then I set out to make a sauce. I began with tomato sauce, Worcestershire, brown sugar, and steak sauce. Mix them together in a skillet and simmer for a bit.



Upon tasting the sauce, I determined that it needed "something more". I squeezed in some Jack Daniels Spicy Original Barbecue Sauce. Then it was perfect.



Once the burgers are cooked, transfer them to the sauce skillet and turn to coat. Let them wallow in the sauce over low heat while you toast the toast.



I just put the Texas Toast right on the dirty broiler pan and baked according to the package directions...no reason to make more dirty dishes.



Place a burger on each piece of toast. Spoon some of that yummy sauce on too. Top with the sauteed onions.



Sprinkle on some shredded cheese. I think that this is Colby Jack.



Now put the whole concoction back under the broiler until the cheese is melted. This was delicious...but the next time I'm thinking that it needs a little crumbled bacon too. No complaints from my husband on this one...it was the perfect meal to conclude a hard day of work in the garage. ; )



Open Face BBQ Cheeseburgers

4 hamburgers
seasoned salt
1/2 of a large sweet onion
4 slices Texas toast
1 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons steak sauce
1/4- 1/2 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
1/2- 2/3 cup shredded cheese (Cheddar, Colby Jack, American)

Season burger with seasoned salt and grill or broil until they reach the desired amount of doneness. Slice the onion into rings and saute in oil until tender and golden. Set aside. Combine tomato sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, and barbecue sauce in a skillet. Bring to a simmer. Transfer cooked burgers into sauce. Turn to coat. Allow burgers to sit in the sauce while toast bakes. Prepare Texas Toast according to package directions. To build the burger: Place burgers onto prepared Texas Toast. Spoon on extra sauce. Top with sauteed onions. Sprinkle each burger with cheese. Place under the oven broiler until cheese is melted. Eat with a fork and knife. : )

Enjoy!