The Vegetarian Hamburger

Okay, so you're going vegetarian - fantastic. I personally use milk and egg products, but they can easily be cut out. Use soy milk, tofutti sour cream, soy cheese, or Ener-G egg replacer instead of milk or egg products. Whole Foods is a great resource if you have one near you.

Now, here are my super easy recipes for days when you want something fast, something vegetarian, and something delicious to eat! Today, we'll discuss the vegetarian hamburger.

Vegetarian Hamburgers
There are MANY different types of vegetarian hamburgers out there. Popular brands include Boca, Morningstar Farms, and Gardenburger. You can find all of these in the frozen section of your local large chain grocery story. I'm personally a fan of the Boca cheeseburger. This is what I like to do:

1 box (4 patties) of your preferred vegetarian hamburger brand
4 slices of cheese (your choice)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 small tomato, sliced
4 large leaves of lettuce (or the bagged lettuce, it's just to put on the sandwich)
1 bag of hamburger buns
ketchup
OPTIONAL - Like bacon? There's vegetarian bacon you can put on your veggie hamburger. Morningstar Farms has some nice fake bacon that tastes and smells pretty darn good!

STEP 1: Put a little butter or olive oil into a skillet and carmelize the onions until clearish-brown. Set onions aside. If you elected to add bacon, you can make it up now with the onions. Follow the package instructions for the fake bacon.

STEP 2: Put veggie hamburger patties into skillet. Cook approximately 4 minutes on each side or until heated through. Boca and Morningstar patties can be microwaved, but honestly, I think they taste mushier when microwaved. Cooking them on the stovetop gives them a nice brown finish and they taste a lot better.

STEP 3: About 2 minutes before you think your veggie hamburgers are going to be done, put a slice of cheese on top of each pattie. Let it melt a little.

STEP 4: All right, time to make up the sandwich - Grab a hamburger bun. Squeeze ketchup on to the bottom. Put one pattie on the bun along with a slice of tomato, some lettuce, and top with the carmelized onions. Add bacon if you made it.

DELICIOUS!! You can make up some frozen fries in the oven to compliment your veggie burger. It's sort of like fast food, except no animals have been harmed and it's half the fat and calories! Enjoy!