Love classic burgers but getting tired of the same old cheeseburger? Here’s a variation loaded with caramelized onions, fresh tomatoes, spices, barbecue sauce, and ranch dressing that will make your tastebuds absolutely sing!
This past weekend was a great weekend! We spent time hanging out with friends and we took our little man to the drive-through Zoofari not far from us, in Reston. He had a wonderful time looking at the animals and feeding them, and it was a safe socially distanced activity.
I’m holding onto that good news, because everything else feels like a mess these days.
As we enter the 19th week and at least our 130th day of staying at home, I think everyone is starting to fray at the seams a little. Work knows no boundaries. I haven’t taken leave in forever. My family is ready to mutiny. I don’t blame them, because you can only watch Madagascar and Penguins of Madagascar so many times before you go batty, and the weather is too gross out to spend a lot of time outside.
I’ve started doing what I used to do when we lived in Hawaii and work threatened to take over my life. Set an alarm at 5pm. A loud one. One that everyone can hear.
Because sometimes, you just have to walk away from whatever you’re working on. You can come back later. I do come back to it after my son has gone to bed. But at least I have that space to go on walks, pull out the splash pad in back, cook dinner, and enjoy a little break with my family.
Because I’m fighting for family time, I haven’t put in time on a lot of other things that are an important part of my balance. Running and workouts. Playing with recipes. Photography. I have a plan to get back there, but a lot of it is going to depend on how ready my work is to acknowledge that even though there isn’t a physical difference between being “at work” and “not at work” anymore, we still have to make time for being not at work. For being present in our own lives.
Work might always be running as a background process, and sometimes I get flashes of inspiration and want to get some of those written up before I lose track of them, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take a breather now and then to spend time with my family, to cook, to sip sweet tea and watch the fireflies come out, and to enjoy the summer.
And to take pictures of some utterly delicious burgers.
[lt_recipe name=”Steakhouse Barbecue Ranch Burgers” summary=”Love classic burgers but getting tired of the same old cheeseburger? Here’s a variation loaded with caramelized onions, fresh tomatoes, spices, barbecue sauce, and ranch dressing that will make your tastebuds absolutely sing!” servings=”4″ total_time=”35M” print=”yes” image=”https://homefrontcooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Barbecue-Ranch-Burgers-1069.jpg” ingredients=”For the burgers:;1 1/2 lb ground beef;1 tsp salt;1 tsp freshly ground black pepper;2 garlic cloves, minced;1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce;For the caramelized onions:;4 tbsp butter;1 medium yellow onion;For assembly:;4 hamburger buns;tomato slices;4 tbsp barbecue sauce;4 tbsp ranch dressing” ]Start with the onions. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Reduce heat to low. Slice the onion into thin wedges and add onion to the skillet. Cook, stirring as needed, until the onion is nicely browned and caramelized, about 20-25 minutes. Low and slow!;Light your charcoal or preheat grill to high.;In a large bowl, combine the salt, pepper, garlic, and Worcestershire. Add the ground beef and mix to combine.;Divide the mixture into 4 balls, and flatten the balls into patties, about 3/4-inch thick.;Grill the burgers until nicely browned on either side, about 3-4 minutes each. Burgers should be at least 145F for medium rare, 160F for medium.;Toast the buns lightly and place the burger on the lower half of each bun. Top with tomato slice, a large spoonful of caramelized onion, a spoonful of barbecue sauce, and a spoonful of ranch dressing. Finish with the top of the bun.;Serve and enjoy!;[/lt_recipe]
These have become a favorite around our house. Even though my husband has been minimizing his dairy intake {he has had zero heartburn issues since we started keeping him down to about 1/2 cup of dairy products a day}, he always makes room in his dairy allotment for a little bit of fresh buttermilk ranch dressing.
We make our own at home these days. Recipe coming soon!
Here’s hoping everyone has a great week! Keep on keeping on!
