Entertaining: Bacon-wrapped Stuffed Dates

We hosted our first (of hopefully many!) game nights this weekend, and I was very excited to finally be able to cook for someone other than my boyfriend!

I know these have been around forever, but they were really tasty and super easy to prep! Plus they taste great at room temperature, which is always good and convenient when you've got better things to worry about, like kicking butt at games!

P.S. We won at game night. Boom! Probably thanks to these bad boys :)

Ingredients

1) 18-24 dates

2) 1/2 slice of bacon per date (so if you're making 20 dates, you need 10 slices of bacon) - we happened to buy jalapeno bacon and it was awesome, but any kind work work great

3) Something to stuff your dates with (we used 2 almonds per date, but you could use any nut you want, or more dried fruit, or nothing at all)

4) Toothpicks!

Before Cooking

Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
1) Pit your dates if they weren't already.
2) Stuff your dates with whatever you want!
3) Cut your bacon slices in half so you have two short, wide pieces.
4) Wrap your bacon around your date, and put the toothpick through so that the date can still lay down. You're going to be flipping it, so want to make sure you can do that with however you pin it.
5) Place your goodies on a baking sheet or in a baking dish, making sure they're spaced enough so you can flip them.
6) Cook your dates for 8-10 minutes, and then flip over. Cook an addition 5-10 minutes until bacon is crispy.
7) Remove from the oven, and place them onto some papertowels to soak up the excess grease.
8) Serve to your friends, and show them how awesome Paleo is.
9) Kick butt on game night!