Burger Bites

Photo and Recipe Credit To @goldengracekitchen

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef 

1 1/2 tsp OliveNation sweet smoked paprika 

1 tsp OliveNation roasted garlic powder 

1/8 tsp OliveNation hickory smoke flavor 

1/2 tsp OliveNation applewood smoked salt

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp olive oil 

1 inch square cheese slices 

Mini tomatoes (can be sliced but not necessary) 

Pickles 

2 inch pieces of lettuce ( I used romaine) 

20-25 toothpick skewers 

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, with your paprika, garlic powder, hickory, smoked flavor, applewood smoked salt, and thyme. Mix everything really well. In a large non stick skillet, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil on medium heat. Place the burger meat onto a large piece of wax paper. Then place another piece of wax paper on top of the burger meat and use a rolling pin to flatten it out into a 8 x 8 square. Then using a pizza dough cutter, cut the hamburger meat into 1 inch squares. Place the 1 inch squares into the heated skillet and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Right before they are done add your sliced cheese to each burger, allowing it to melt slightly then remove the burger from the pan. Allow these to cool for about three minutes. Then to your toothpick skewer, add tomato, pickle, lettuce folded in half, and then your burger bite. Push everything down to the bottom of the skewer so that it stands nicely. 

Tips: 

You can always add more than one tomato, or more than one pickle to fill up your skewer. You can also get creative and add things like onion, mushroom, and bacon.

Looking to make a dairy free option of these, simply use a dairy free cheese in its place or no cheese at all. This recipe makes about 25 burger bites, although that could change, depending upon the amount of beef you use or how thick your patties are.