You know those crazy parents who get on school waiting lists before their kid is even born? Or the parents who scream at the basketball coach for not giving little Jimmy enough playing time? Or the parents who are constantly volunteering in the classroom. Hovering ?? Ya. Um. I totally see where it begins.
Our neighborhood K-8 school is first-come-first-serve, with only 100 Kindergarten slots available (60 being morning, which are the most coveted.) I’ve heard about people camping out for registration, long before the sun comes up. And naturally, I’ve made fun of these people.
But this past Friday night, Paul and four of our Dad friends, pitched their tents at midnight on the parameter of the school. He spent the entire night outside in the cold, so that our precious Haley, spawn of our loins, could get into Kindergarten.
We are officially part of the crazy club.
And since we crossed that line into Looneyville, I decided to carry it one step further – I made onion rings for dinner. Not with dinner. For dinner. I was emotionally spent, and just plain tired. And I just wanted…onion rings.
I was pleasantly surprised how great these turned out, considering they’re not fried. They’re light and crispy and the BBQ sauce coating provides plenty of flavor, eliminating the need for condiments afterward.
So we sat on the couch. And ate onion rings. And drank juice boxes. The kids were in Heaven. Haley turned to me and asked, “Mommy, when do we register Trevor for Kindergarten?” Tell me she’s not destined for a scholarship someday ;-)
Baked BBQ Onion Rings
Serves 4-6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes
Ingredients
• 1 cup barbecue sauce of your choice
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups panko bread crumbs
• 2 medium to large sweet onions, sliced into 1/2-inch rings
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place two baking sheets in the oven and let those preheat too.
In a medium bowl, whisk together barbecue sauce, eggs and flour. Place bread crumbs in a separate bowl.
Using tongs (or your fingers) dip onion slices in the barbecue sauce mixture, shake the excess off and then dunk on all sides into the bread crumbs. Lay flat on a cool service. Repeat the process with all the onion slices.
Remove hot baking sheets from the oven and spray lightly with cooking spray. Move coated onions to hot baking sheets. Spray the coated onions lightly with cooking spray.
Bake for about 6 minutes, or until golden, then use tongs to turn each onion ring over. Spray the other side of the onions with cooking spray and bake for an additional 6 minutes. Watch closely to make sure the crumbs don’t burn.
Remove from oven and serve immediately.
(originally from Recipe Girl)
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This is a very interesting looking recipe and not something I would have ever of thought of mixing, but because it looks so good from your photos, I am going to have to try it out! Of course, I like the fact that they are baked! I’ll let you know!
Greetings Joyce – I remember when I first saw these, thinking they couldn’t possibly come close to how awesome fried onion rings are. And while nothing really does compare to fried food, these were yummy in their own right. Hope they turn out for you. Thanks for stopping by!
Oh, Amy. So…did you get her in for the morning spot?! AND, are you freaking out that your baby is starting school? It’s only natural, don’t worry. My mom still clings. :)
Next time you have an onion ring dinner party, I might just invade your house.
Honestly, it’s s nervous excited. Since I’ve been a SAHM since Haley was born, and rarely been away from either of my kids, I’m ready for some distance.
We won’t know for another 2 months whether we got a morning slot. Torture.
Hilarious:)
I love onion rings- these look wonderful with the BBQ sauce!
Hey sometimes you just crave onion rings. You have to do what you have to do satisfy the craving. I have to admit, I almost thought you were going to say you had them for breakfast, and if you did, I wouldn’t judge, lol.
Lisa – I actually thought about you while I was making these, knowing you love onions like I do. The breakfast option hadn’t occurred to me, but now that you mention it…
So I gotta tell you — I deal with “those” parents every day in my job. The good news is that I really like many of them! I particularly like the parents who don’t take themselves — or their little genius offspring — so seriously that they won’t serve onion rings FOR dinner. I think your dinner and Paul’s campout actually cancel each other out and keep you squarely in the “normal” zone. Hooray!
One of my friends is a teacher…and mom of a 5YO. She used to laugh at the parents camping out and losing sleep over K-registered. But wouldn’t you know it – she’s now in the same boat. We’re all laughing about it. Ah, the things we do for our kids! Thank you for making me feel a little less insane :D
Hope these are as good as they look, since I love a recipe that replaces frying with oven bake.
You would like these…so would Dad. They were really easy. A little messy, but easy.
Hey, if they are serving onion rings FOR dinner in Looneyville, I’ll meet you there!
Lol. Come on down! The more the merrier ;-)
Yow! These sound great. I wonder if Milo would prefer them over Tater Totters (his term). It’s spring here! For today at least.
Feel grateful that Milo likes Tator Tots. Neither of my kids will entertain potatoes, in any form. Who ever heard of a kid not liking french fries or tator tots? *head shaking* – interestingly enough, they’re not big on onions either (tougher sell for kids, right?), but they loved these onions rings. Try it.
Haha! I enjoyed your story. It’s ok to be crazy! (I tell myself that multiple times a day)
You are the queen of onion dishes I have decided! Can’t wait to try these :)
That’s not a bad title to have, right? I love onions!
Growing up in NYC, I’ve seen my mom do crazy things to try to get us into good schools. I think we used a different address for every school we attended since most of where you go is determined by zoning and my mom has a lot of friends throughout Queens. She also sucked up to a lot of PTA mothers and principals and lord knows who else. So yeah. Totally get it.
So did Haley get in??
I definitely have days (every day) where onion rings for dinner seem totally appropriate. Glad I have the official okay from you to do it. And with bbq sauce too..man you must be the best mom EVER!
Ya. There are parents here doing the same thing; using different addresses, registering at ALL the schools, etc. We haven’t gone that far. I know Haley got into the school, which weighed the heaviest on my poor brain. Now it’s a matter of whether I got one of those morning spots…which I won’t find out for another 3 months. It’s torture. I think I need to bake sugary delights for some of the admin people – I’m not above bribery.
I’m totally okay with snacky foods for dinner on occasion. Delicious and fun. :) That’s pretty funny about the parents (including your husband) camping out for a spot in kindergarten!