I CAN FEEL IT....CAN YOU?

What can I feel? LOVE...for sure, LOVE is in the air ladies!

We are already talking about Valentines Day at our house...
What we want to do, where we will go. I am sure we will come
up with some fun plan, but one of my favorite things to do is to
just stay at home and enjoy a romantic dinner for just the two of us.

Over the years, we have done this a few times, when our kids
were little, they loved being a part of it. I would have it all fixed
and a table set up in our bedroom. They would be the waiters and
with a knock on the door, they would deliver the food to us. They
loved being a part of mom and dad's romantic Valentine dinner!

I love a Valentines table like this, isn't it so pretty?! Don't forget to add
some romantic music too! Here below are a few ideas for your Valentines
dinner, this is some of what I have done over the years, I hope it
gives you some ideas!

ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS

Set your oven for 425'
Wash 4 Cornish hens, pat dry and place in a roaster pan or a broiler pan.
With your fingers, separate the skin from the meat on the breasts and legs.
Push a small amount of Pesto under the skin, about 1/4 cup. Then rub Pesto
over the skin and rub the chicken with Olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and
pepper, sage and basil. In the cavity of the body, place cut up slices of lemons
and oranges, along with some more basil.
Roast for 15 minutes at 425' then turn oven down to 350' and roast for 1 hour
and 10 minutes. (18-20 minutes per pound)
Half way through, baste with a little olive oil and lemon juice. These turn out so
nice and moist and full of flavor.

BAKED YAMS

About 1/2 hour ahead of putting your Cornish game hens into the oven,
stick your yams in to be baking... I like nice big one! Wrap them in foil
just like you would do for a baked potato and bake them for a good hour
or so until they are fork tender.
We like to slice them on a plate and smoother them with all of the following;
Butter,Brown sugar, cinnamon, chopped pecans and mini marshmallow.

A SIDE OF BROCCOLI

I like to wash it and slice it up and cook it for 10 minutes in the microwave
along with a tiny bit of water a bit of salt. When it is done, I toss the broccoli
with a bit of butter and lemon juice and 1/2 cup of cashews, 1 tsp. red pepper flakes,
and 1 Tablespoon of Soy sauce. Makes it very tasty!

Earlier in the day, I make a batch of my very special bread...
For this recipe, go to my side bar. This is the easiest and best bread
recipe ever! It only takes 90 minutes from start to finish with no second
rising... It turns out so perfectly every time. So many have contacted me to
tell me that they are baking it all the time and love it.
You can use the recipe to make your rolls, also cinnamon rolls too.
I hope you will give it a try. Just make sure you follow it exactly as
it is written. (don't add dough enhancers etc.)

A ROMANTIC PEAR OF MICE SALAD
(A bit on the whimsy side and fun)

Lay a bed of lettuce on your salad plate, then lay 2 pear halves
on the lettuce. Using the small end as the head, make slits on
each side of the head for the ears, which are pieces of dried bananas.
Use raisins for the eyes, and mini marshmallows for the nose, pink or
white. For the tail you can use pieces of string cheese, or long thin slices
of orange rind, tucking one end under the mouses bottom! Add a little
round of Babybel cheese for fun or you can use slices of any kind of cheese.

EASY TRIFLE DESSERT

For 2 people you will need:

Whipped cream
12oz. fresh raspberries
4 Twinkies
caramel topping
chopped pistachios
cheesecake Jell-o pudding, prepared.


In the bottom of a pretty serving dish or glass;

Spoon in a bit of whipped cream, and a few raspberries.
Next, break up 2 Twinkies and lay a few pieces of this over
the raspberries. Then 1 T. of caramel topping, then some
chopped pistachios, then some of the Jell-o cheesecake pudding,
then another layer of all the above...topping it all off with some
whipped cream, pistachios and a raspberry...Chill.

I hope this gets your romantic Valentines ideas flowing!
Nothing more fun than to do something special for your
loved one!


LOVE TO ALL