Mini Bacon Cheeseburgers and Assorted Vegetarian Crostini
Mini Bacon Cheeseburgers and Assorted Vegetarian Crostini make the perfect bit size appetizers for the upcoming holiday season.
This week I am excited to partner with M & M Meat Shops and bring you two recipes for your entertaining tables this season. First up, an adorable mini bacon cheeseburger on a stick and next, a colourful plate of assorted vegetarian crostinis on whipped feta. Both recipes are available here, on the M & M Meat Shops website, along with a host of other amazing appetizers and meals that sing with holiday spirit.
It has been many, many years since I have shopped at an M & M Meat Shop. I remember my folks shopping there when I was a teenager on nights they were having people over. She always popped in and grabbed a few no-fail, no-fuss boxes of pre-made appetizers and they were always well received. In my old life as a commercial banker, I had the privilege of actually helping several people purchase M & M Meat Shops as a franchise. I was always impressed by both the caliber of the individuals, and the conduct of the company.
Fast forward to today and I cannot tell you one defining reason we didn't frequent an M & M Meat Shop. Being someone who liked to create in the kitchen, I assumed most of their products were complete dishes and didn't require any further manipulating by the host. When the opportunity to develop recipes with M & M presented itself, I knew I had to visit a shop first to ensure there was in fact room for the home cook who favours clean eating and whole foods...something I could still put my own individual spin on. And that is exactly what I found.
I was really pleased to find such a selection of whole food products in the comfort of a small store footprint - a welcome experience versus the overwhelming size of an average grocery store these days. It was quaint and intimate and I liked being able to pick up half a dozen items and be on my way so quickly. I was able to find a host of frozen vegetables - chopped onions were a gem - and some frozen meatballs with a very short list of ingredients.
The mini bacon cheeseburgers were super fun. My Little helped cut out the bread and you could do them in a few ways - layers on a long skewer or just one on a longer toothpick. I think there are so many fun ways to display them - in a deep vase, stuck into some styrofoam or just arranged on a board with some condiments for dipping. I used the M & M Meats Bacon and M & M Meats Meatballs for these.
The crostini's are a go-to appetizer for me. I am a firm believer you can top whipped feta with just about anything and it will taste delightful. In this case I just worked with the M & M Meats frozen fruit and vegetables selection. The blueberries got a quick pickle, the peas a quick mash, the corn a quick steam and the onions a quick fry. The plate works as a whole or it would be simple to chose just one or two varieties.
You can find the recipe for the Mini Bacon Cheeseburgers here and the Assorted Vegetable Crostini here. And be sure to poke around the M & M Recipes section to find other delicious recipes developed by other Canadian food bloggers.
** Note: This post was sponsored by M & M Meat Shops. I was approached and compensated to develop recipes using their products. As always, opinions are my own.
