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We threw together a pretty sweet dinner tonight that was also quite healthy so I thought I would share the recipe.  We're sick of winter so the idea of a burger for dinner was a welcome concept and a nice way to shrug off the Team USA overtime loss to America Jr.

Ingredients:

• 3 small to medium onions (white or yellow)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Spray cooking oil (Canola)
• 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
• 4 slices yellow American cheese
• 4 multi-grain sandwich thins (Arnold's)
• 4 Boca burger patties (we tried the bruschetta flavor)

The key to a successful patty melt is in the onions.  Caramelized onions kick ass.  If I had my way, we would have a continuous batch of caramelized on the stove at all times like a greasy spoon dive.  Caramelizing onions is easy but a little time consuming.  Here's a good article on how to do it so I'm not reinventing the wheel here.

Once your onions are all set, spray a non-stick pan or skillet with the cooking spray and warm it over medium heat.  Throw in the Boca burgers or whatever your patty of choice is.  For frozen veggie burgers, cook for about 8 minutes total and flip at the half way point.  Move the patties around every minute or so to keep them from burning.  Grilling is always a better option if you have one and the weather permits.

While your burgers are cooking, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Get a baking sheet or stone and arrange the 4 sandwich thins.  Once the burgers are done, add them to the sandwich thins.  Top with onions and then cheese.  The cheese must go on after the onions in order to form a protective blanket that preserves the structural integrity of the patty melt.  Throw the sandwich thin top on the stack and pop it in the oven for about 6 minutes or until the cheese is melted just right.  Once the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted, add your tomato slices and of course some ketchup.  I threw some hot sauce on that pig as well.

Sides are up to your individual preference but we went with the trusted garden salad.  All in, the patty melt is about 5 WeightWatchers points.  Not bad.  Fat free ranch dressing on the salad adds another point which is still not bad for dinner.  We used veggie burgers but you could of course do this with regular burgers or whatever you like.  It was pretty damn good.