Sweet & Spicy Bacon Wrapped Bites - Dairy & Gluten Free

The weather has been insane here for the past week.  The roads have been closed much more than they have been open.  In fact my husband was unable to go to work even from Monday until Thursday when he was finally given permission to go to work even though the roads were still closed.  Needless to say cabin fever was definitely an issue around these parts.  While I did still cook for us during our weather imposed snow in, it was comfort foods that we craved such as my Hearty Kale & Potato Soup which I made a double batch of, and Galley Mess (a simple breakfast casserole that I will share with you soon).  I did attempt to make Shirley's Sweet Potato Biscuits and although they tasted fantastic they just didn't work out for me as biscuits at almost 7,000 ft although they did just fine in an 8x8 baking dish!

Last night I felt the need to break out of this leftover rut that we had been in.  I tinkered with the spicy blend and finally perfected Sweet & Spicy Bacon Wrapped Bites which are fantastic with either boneless skinless chicken thighs, boneless skinless chicken breast, or boneless pork chops.  These little bits of goodness are fantastic as an appetizer or a snack as well as the protein component of your meal.  Really they are great anytime you need an excuse to get a little more bacon in!  :)

These Sweet & Spicy Bacon Wrapped Bites are naturally dairy free and gluten free which makes them perfect for me and my food allergies.

Sweet & spicy Bacon Wrapped Pork Bites (with optional brown sugar in sauce)

Sweet & Spicy Bacon Wrapped Bites

2 lbs boneless pork chops or boneless skinless chicken thighs/breast

1 lb bacon

Dry Rub

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

3/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp chipotle powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional for more intense spice)

1 tsp chili powder

4 tbs brown sugar

Sauce

1/3 c honey

1/3 c agave

1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbs brown sugar (optional gives a stickier sauce)

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Cut the pork or chicken into bite sized pieces.

Cut your bacon into halves or thirds depending on the size of your pieces of meat.

You want the bacon pieces to be long enough so you can wrap it around each piece of meat.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry rub ingredients.

Toss the pieces of meat with the dry rub.

Be sure to get the meat well coated.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Lightly spray the foil with oil.

Wrap each piece of meat with a piece of bacon and place on the prepared baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients.

Pour some sauce over each piece of bacon wrapped meat.

Bake at 400 F for approximately 30 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and the bacon has crisped.

About every 10 minutes during the cooking time carefully spoon the sauce back up over the meat to get them well glazed.

Sweet & Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites