Instagram, Raw Brownies, & A Future Giveaway

I'm letting you know now that this post involves several different topics and may be lengthy.

  This past Saturday my mom and I along with our assistant pastor, his wife, three of his girls, his sister (our past youth leader), his niece, and nephew went shopping at the Grapevine outlet mall as a day of fun. We all met up at cracker barrel for a late breakfast before spending 7 hours roaming the very crowded mall.  My mom was told by some friends that we had to eat at the Rainforest Cafe because it is a unique experience so we made reservations to have a late lunch/early dinner. When it's was time to be seated, we were lead into a dark room that is heavily decorated to look like a rain forest with mist machines at the bar, mechanic animals that move every few minutes with sound effects, and the staff was dressed like safari guides.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Dough! {No Bake}

  Lately I have been posting mostly sweet recipes and it kind of bugs me since I don't want y'all to think I only eat chocolate-covered treats throughout the week, especially since most of the recipes I've been sharing I actually made as far back as a few weeks ago but waited to post about it. After stopping by Central Market the other night and buying a few pounds of chicken breasts, a pound of large fresh scallops, and a lot of green veggies like baby bok choy (one of my favorites) I have several savory recipes in mind to share soon. I've also been thinking up a few new recipes for soup since according to my mom the changing weather will be "soup weather" soon.

But right now we are still talking about sweet treats. 

  Have you ever stopped by Katie's blog: Chocolate-Covered Katie? Her blog is full of amazing small portioned desserts that are healthy so you don't have to feel guilty about having nutella fudge, chocolate pumpkin brownies ,and I especially want to try the cookie dough dip. This recipe was kind of inspired by her cookie batter recipes.

Almond Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon!

I have a new obsession.
Its these little almond stuffed dates that are wrapped in bacon!
The chewy, sweetness of the dates goes splendidly well with the crunch from the almonds and the salty crispy bacon.
You have to make these for your next party or pot luck.
Even people who didn't know that they liked dates will enjoy these little bites of goodness.

 

You can also fill the dates with different cheeses, meats like chorizo, or different nuts.
I even drizzled some maple syrup (not pancake syrup) over them if you feel like it for some extra sweetness.

You will need to have patience once these come out of the oven or you will burn your tongue.
These are great for parties since they can be served warm or at room temp.
This recipe is great because you can easily multiply this recipe for a crowd or simply just make enough for yourself with little work.

Almond stuffed Dates wrapped in Bacon

yields: 12 dates

Idea slightly adapted from: All Recipes

12 Medjool Dates
24 blanched almonds
6 slices of thick cut bacon

1. Slice the dates lengthwise using a small paring knife on one side. Remove the pit.
2. Fill the empty cavity of the dates with the almonds- depending on the size of your dates and almonds depends on how many almonds per date. I used 2-3 almonds per date.
3. Close the dates by pressing the sides back together. Cut each strip of bacon in half crosswise. 
4. Wrap each date with a piece of the cut bacon and place the seam side of the bacon wrap face down on a broiler pan.  Repeat for all of the bacon and dates.
5. Preheat oven to  350F and bake for 25 minutes or until bacon is browned crispy throughout. 
6.Take out to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.