Chocolate Covered Bacon

First of all, let me say that Ger is not going to eat this. He is so sugar-free. His discipline is amazing.

But, the rest of us may be saving up a little percentage of our time when we aren't 100% paleo, so I thought it would be a perfect time to have my sister, Annette, guest blog about her chocolate covered bacon. See, we all know CrossFitters LOVE their bacon AND it's almost Valentine's Day, so here's a great idea for Valentine's Day!

The pics are from my sister's kitchen when she was prepping for her and Andy's Superbowl party. The first pic shows a container of chocolate covered bacon. (Focus on that - NOT the chocolate covered pretzel rods in the upper part of the pic. A little dark chocolate is more easily justified than that empty grain!)

Annette says:

INGREDIENTS
12 thick-sliced bacon strips (about a pound)
1 cup Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
1.  Cut bacon strips in half to make 24 shorter pieces. This will help keep them flat while cooking. Place on a rack on a large baking pan or in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until crisp. Turn bacon pieces over halfway through baking time. Watch carefully towards the end so that it is nice and crispy but not burned.

2.  Be very careful removing pans from oven as there will be extremely hot bacon grease in the pan that can easily slosh out. Keep pans level while removing from oven.

3. Using tongs, remove bacon and place on paper towels to drain. Cool completely.

4. In a microwave (or place bowl in a larger bowl of VERY hot water..) melt chocolate chips in a glass bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring after each time, until smooth.

5. With a silicone pastry brush, coat bacon on both sides with melted chocolate, leaving about a one-inch "handle" on one end. Top each strip, if desired. Place on wax paper lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm. Store in containers in the refrigerator.

Here's Annette, my sister. She says to try these toppings:

toasted unsweetened coconut (ok - she didn't say the unsweetened part....lol)
chopped dried apple chips
crystalized ginger
finely chopped pecans or pistachios
kosher salt
a mix of black pepper and cayenne pepper
candy sprinkles