Honey and Pistachio Stuffed Dates

This post is going to be short and sweet. And when I say sweet, I mean it. I found this recipe for stuffed dates online and I wanted to simplify it (as in really simplify) so I could give it out at work. People loved it at work, so I made it for some guests over the weekend. This could pass as a dessert or appetizer and can be made in 45 minutes. I know this might sound like a lot of time, but you can watch TV or listen to the radio while you are relaxing in the kitchen and making these. It's calming, really.

What you will need:

Salted and shelled pistachios (a typical 6-ounce bag)
~40-50 large dates (large Medjool dates work best)
~1/4 cup honey

What you will do:

1. Chop the pistachios

2. Add the honey to the pistachios and mix until the pistachio pieces stick together relatively well (well enough to stuff into the dates)

3. Pit the dates and stuff them with the honey and pistachio mixture.

Seriously, this recipe is too delicious not to make. You could put these out with a cheese tray, or serve them with some vanilla ice cream. Whatever you do, I don't care, make this (someone at work told me this was the best thing they had eaten all year)!

And now on to the dreaded new year's resolution........

I've been writing some posts on my recommendations for new year's resolutions, for other people (more to come this week and next), but have yet to declare my own. The reason for that is simple; I don't think you really care. I'll be honest, I don't really care what yours are, so I figure no one cares about mine. However, since I still continue to read posts about people's declarations of new years resolutions, I figure you might continue reading this one, so I'll go ahead and tell you mine; First, I resolve to do yoga twice a week, and get my arms nice and toned for my September wedding (so far I've been doing well with this) and my second resolution is to do a triathlon next year. Remember my biathlon this year? This year I'm going to swim too! Yikes.

There, it's in writing, now I must do them.

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone!

Healthy and Tasty Appetizer; Baked Zucchini Roll-Ups

Do you have a party coming up? Or are you looking for something fun to do with the last of your fresh summer zucchini? Check out this great recipe!

BAKED ZUCCHINI ROLL-UPS
(Makes ~10)

Ingredients

2 large zucchini, cut lengthwise into strips 1/4-inch thick

1 red bell pepper, seeded, cut into quarters

1 T extra virgin olive oil

3-4 ounces herbed goat cheese **

1 T finely chopped basil

2 tsp. balsamic vinegar (I used blueberry balsamic vinegar)


** If following a low FODMAPs diet, choose a plain goat cheese **

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cut zucchini with a mandoline or knife

3. Add about 1 tsp. EVOO to each of two baking sheets and coat each well.

4. Add the strips of zucchini and the quartered red peppers to the baking sheets

5. Brush the zucchini and red peppers with the remaining extra virgin olive oil.

6. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if you desire

7. Bake in the oven about 3-4 minutes on each side (you may have to remove the zucchini and then allow the red pepper to bake longer in order to get soft).

8. Once zucchini and red peppers are baked, place 1 tsp goat cheese about an inch from the end of each zucchini slice. Then place a strip of red pepper down on the zucchini slice.

9. Gently roll up the strip and place seam side down on a serving plate. Repeat this with each of the zucchini slices.

10. Top the serving plate with some fresh basil and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Estimated Nutrition Facts
(Serving, 1 roll-up)

At first I just made a few (see picture above), but then ate them all (hehe, oops!) so I had to continue making more :)

I'm not creative with my food photos. As you can see in the picture above, I don't know how to garnish food. I mean, that basil is completely random. I did add a bit of the basil to the inside of some of the roll-ups and it tasted pretty delicious.

This is my new favorite way to eat zucchini. I could have easily eaten all of these in one sitting, but thankfully Nick was there to help. They are healthier apps, but their calories could still add up pretty fast. If you want to decrease the calories you could use something like Laughing Cow cheese instead of goat cheese (yum!).


QUESTION: Do you like to make fun appetizers? Do you have any favorites? Do you like goat cheese? Nick hates it, I LOVE it!