What you need:

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1 medium sized white or yellow onion
1/4 cups bread crumbs
2 tablespoons steak sauce (A1)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 hefty spoonfuls of blue cheese crumbles
1 tomato sliced fairly thin
4 large iceberg lettuce leaves
2 Bulkie Rolls, or bun of your choice
sea salt and pepper
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Yield: 2-4 burgers (extra burger meat can be shaped and frozen for on the go dinners)

How to:

1. In a big bowl, mix together ground beef, plenty of salt and pepper, bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, and steak sauce. Make sure seasoning covers all parts of the meat. Using your hands to mix and mold the meat works best. Form into burger patties the size of your bun.

2. Start caramelizing the onions by heating olive oil in a sauté pan on medium heat and stirring the onions occasionally. This will take the most time, so I start it first. Once the onions become translucent, heat a new pan with butter. Before the butter completely melts, add the patties to the pan (or grill, whatever you have available). Cook 5-7 minutes on each side depending on thickness and preference of doneness.

3. Make the reduction: heat up a sauce pan on medium-high heat. Add balsamic vinegar to already hot pan. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. For thicker reduction, simmer for longer. Make sure not to turn the heat up again or you will burn the vinegar to the pan. One you have your ideal consistency then remove from heat and allow to cool. It will thicken as it cools.

4. Once the meat is cooked all the way through, remove from stove and place on a plate to rest before plating. While it is resting, toast or grill your bun, layer with lettuce and tomato (or your preferred condiments), then the meat. Add the caramelized onions to the burger, top with blue cheese, then drizzle the balsamic reduction over everything.

This burger will have your mouth watering for hours after! I served the burgers with a side of roasted asparagus with thyme and rosemary and it complimented it just the way I thought it would. Other delicious side dishes would be sweet potato fries, grilled corn on the cob, or even a bold fruit salad to make this even more healthy. What I love most about this burger is that I didn’t feel gross after eating it. I felt good and full, and you will too!

We all need to make time for a burger once in a while.

-Erica Durance