Sweet & Smoky Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

This past weekend the fam and I went to the local Chili cook-off where we got to try some of the most delicious and also some of the spiciest chili I have ever tasted. My insides are still recovering from the amount of heat that was packed into some of those tiny little taster cups. The truth is, though, there was one thing I ate that day that stood out among everything else... and it wasn't chili. It was a bacon-wrapped shrimp that was doused in soy sauce! I can still taste that divine little shrimpy...

If you know me, you know that I like shrimp, but I don't loooove shrimp. Shrimp and I don't have any beef, we pretty much see eye-to-eye and we get along, for the most part... But, after I tasted that little bacon-covered bite of deliciousness, I knew that our relationship was going to change in a big way, and it did... I knew I had to make my own version of those little gems and I had to make them right away.

So, last night I pulled out the big guns and made my very own bacon-wrapped shrimp, but I decided to add a little sweetness, a little garlic and a little something extra to mine to make them even more delicious. It totally worked. What I'm about to share with you might change your life forever... and I hope it does. I hope that you can never go back to your "normal" life... I hope that you will be a changed woman (or man) and that you will look at life through different eyes...

Okay, so I might be getting a little carried away... The shrimp are good, no, scratch that -- they're great -- but maybe, just maybe, not life-altering.

You might just have to make them for yourself and see if anything changes... then get back to me. For research purposes, of course.

These little shrimp would be a fabulous appetizer at one of your holiday parties, and they are great served atop a heaping pile of Sesame noodles! They're packed with flavor and sweetness with a hint of smoke from the bacon. Enjoy!

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Sweet & Smoky Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp:
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Ingredients:

• 1 pound medium, raw shrimp, deveined and tails removed (about 36 shrimp)
• 9 slices bacon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut bacon slices into 4 equal pieces and wrap each shrimp in one of the quarters, securing with a toothpick. Place on a large baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, vegetable oil, garlic, pepper and sesame oil. Drizzle half of the mixture over the top of the shrimp, brush with a pastry brush to coat and set remaining sauce aside.

Place shrimp in preheated oven and cook for about 10 minutes, brush remaining sauce over the top, return to oven and cook for additional 5-7 minutes, or until bacon is cooked and shrimp are pink.

Remove from oven and serve immediately.