Chipotle Burgers with Fire-Roasted Ketchup

This is Rachael Ray's recipe "Texas Hold-Ums" from the cookbook 2, 4, 6, 8: Great Meals for Couples or Crowds. I made it tonight in honor of National Hamburger Day! (So says Applebees...) The recipe says it serves 6, but it uses 2 lbs of meat. I made 1/4 of the recipe, or two 1/4 lb burgers.

Ingredients::
2 lbs ground sirloin (extra lean ground beef)
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half (I used onion powder in the burgers themselves and put diced red onions on top of Dave's burger as well)
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 chipotles in adobo, chopped, plus 2 T of the adobo sauce (San Marcos brand)
2 T grill seasoning, such as McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning, a couple palmfuls (I used Emeril's Southwest seasoning)
1 T EVOO, plus some for drizzling
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 T brown sugar
1/4 c vinegar (I found out at the last minute that we are out of white vinegar so I used red wine vinegar- it was still good!)
15 oz. can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes (Muir Glen Organic Brand, 14.5 oz can)
Salt and black pepper
12 slices (1/2" thick) smoked cheddar or sharp cheddar, cut from a brick of cheese, such as Cabot brand, optional (Ilchester, Golden Applewood Smoked Cheddar, 1 oz per burger)
12 small round rolls, split (Meijer Hamburger Buns)

Directions:
Place meat in a bwol. Grate half of the onion into the meat using the small holes on a box grater (onion powder). Chop and reserve the other half of the onion. Add the worcestershire, chipotles and adobo sauce, and grill seasoning to the meat mixture. Drizzle a little EVOO (I used 1 tsp for 1/4 of the recipe) over the bwol and combine everything. Score the meat into 4 sections (I did 2). Make 3 mini burgers, each 3" wide and 1" thick, from each of the 4 sections, for 12 in all (I just made 2 regular sized burgers).

Give the burgers to your husband to grill. :) Well, that is what I did. When almost ready, melt the cheese on top.

Heat a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add the tablespoon of EVOO and the garlic. Cook the garlic for 2-3 minutes, then add the brown sugar and vinegar. Cook for 2 minutes more and stir in the tomatoes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and cook it for 5-6 minutes more, to thicken a bit.

Place the burgers on buns and top them with raw chopped onions and some of the warm fire-roasted ketchup.

Nutritional Information:
(For 1/4 lb burger and hamburger bun)
Calories: 465
Fat: 21g
Saturated Fat: 9g
Carbs: 31g
Protein: 36g

Ratings:
Kristen: 4.5
Dave: 4