Welcome to another monthly Key Ingredient Challenge! This month we were challenged to use apples in our recipe – a PERFECT ingredient choice! Doesn’t everyone have extra apples sitting in the bottom of their fridge right now?! I was in a savoury mood when I planned this one, so I cooked up some apple, bacon, & cheddar crostini appetizers!

Ingredients:

10 slices of french baguette
1 apple (granny smith), peeled and chopped
6 slices cooked bacon
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 of a red onion
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. apple juice
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. rosemary
1/4 tsp. thyme
pinch of salt

Heat oven to 450F. Place baguette slices in a single layer on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush each slice using 1 tbsp of olive oil. Bake 3-5 minutes or until toasted.

In a non-stick frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add apples. Stir often and cook on medium heat until tender and lightly browned.

When apples are soft, add brown sugar, apple juice, rosemary, thyme, and salt. After a minute add onion and cook until onion is ready. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Once cool – add cheddar to mixture. Your nose will be SO happy you are making this at this point!

Turn baguette slices over.  Place approx. 1 tbsp of apple, bacon & cheddar mixture on the top of each baguette slice to complete the crostinis.

Once they come out, serve them immediately.
My husband, my mother-in-law, and my one year old gave these appetizers rave reviews! They will definitely make some repeat appearances in our kitchen!

For those of you who like the recipe, here’s an easy printable version :)