2014 52 in 52 #3 - Bacon Wrapped Lil' Smokies

Bacon, lil' smokies, butter and brown sugar... if you don't love that combination then you need serious mental help.  And you should definitely stop reading because you will be greatly disappointed. 

Hubby was the first one to alert me to this recipe.  I filed it away for another time when we were having a party or get together with friends.  This is definitely a 'man' recipe.  Anything covered in butter and bacon attracts men like flies. 

I am always on the look for appetizers and snacks for the kid's birthday parties.  I like to serve several different appetizers and snacks in lieu of a meal, that way people are destined to find something that they like.  I originally made this recipe for Isabella's third birthday party and it was okay.  There were several people who ranted and raved about it but I knew that it could be better.  If you make it like the recipe states it kind of swims in the syrup created by the butter and sugar and the bacon will never look or taste like it is cooked.  I definitely wanted that to be different. 

For Silas's second birthday, I made it again and this time, I think, it turned out a lot better.  I played with the ratio of brown sugar and butter and we changed the heat settings on the oven in an attempt to cook the bacon on the outside a bit more. 

Try it and let me know what you think!  Also, let me know what appetizers you like or what food you like to serve at birthday parties. 

Bacon Wrapped Lil' Smokies
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:
2 packages of lil' smokies
1 and 1/2lb thin sliced bacon
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 and 2/3 cup brown sugar, divided

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut bacon strips into thirds.  Wrap bacon around each lil' smoky and place in ungreased 8x8 pan.  I used an 8x8 and a 9x9 this time in order to fit all of the lil' smokies in.  You can also use a 13x9 but I found that they didn't all fit without overlapping and that created soggy bacon.  Combine melted butter and 1 cup brown sugar together.  Spread evenly on top of bacon wrapped sausages.  Crumble remaining brown sugar evenly over the top.  Cook 20 minutes uncovered on 375, then raise heat to 400 and cook another 5 minutes.  We then cooked the pans carefully on broil for an extra 5 minutes in an attempt to crisp the skin a bit.  It still could be more crisp if it were up to me, but the party goers seemed to like them in the state that they were in.  Serve warm. 

Enjoy!