Valentine’s Day Menu
I love making my family feel special on Valentine’s Day. This year, Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday which is perfect for celebrating all day long! Here is a free download of our traditional Valentine’s Day Menu. I hope you enjoy the recipes!
Download the .pdf version of this menu along with the recipes here.
Breakfast:
Heart Shaped Pancakes with fresh Strawberries and Maple Syrup
Strawberry Yogurt Parfaits
Orange Juice
Dinner:
Spinach Lasagna Béchamel
Tossed Salad with Strawberries, Green Onion, Feta and Raspberry Vinaigrette
Garlic Toast
Strawberry Lemonade
Heart Shaped Butter Cookies
Decadent Chocolate Cake with Strawberries and Cream
Potato Knish
This recipe was sent in by one of our members, Bonnie from Spokane Washington.
Potato Knish
Servings: 2 people
Dough:
½ cup butter
2 cup flour
about 7 tbsp. water
Filling:
½ tsp. garlic
1 cup cheese, grated
¼ cup onion, chopped
½ tsp. salt
1 cup potato, precooked and mashed
½ cup milk
2 tbsp. flour
In a large bowl, mix garlic, cheese, onion, salt, and potato. In a saucepan, mix the milk and flour and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn it down to low heat once it boiled (it just needed to boil to thicken it). Add the rest of the filling mixture, mix and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the butter for the dough into the flour, making it look crumbly. Then, add water a little at a time, kneading and adding water until it forms a dough ball. Knead the dough well, then divide into two balls. Roll out the balls onto a floured surface into a long rectangle, about 5 inches by 11 inches, at 1/8 to ¼ inch thick. Take the filling and put half of it into each rectangle, being sure to leave space around all four edges to seal it. Take the end of the rectangle, and roll it up (to get layers of pastry, filling, pastry, etc). Fold up the two sides to the same side as the end is, and put it on an ungreased pan, fold sides down. Bake about 45 minutes, using the broil setting at the end to brown the top.
You can vary this recipe from this traditional one, to leftover sauces (like humus) with potato, all the way to a rolled-up pot pie.
Pumpkin Waffles with Cranberry Syrup
Pumpkin Waffles
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/ 12 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups low fat buttermilk
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 large egg
1 tsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg whites
Heat oven to 250. Place a large baking sheet in the oven. Combine the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Stir to mix well. Make a well in the center of the ingredients and set aside. Combine buttermilk, canned pumpkin, egg, oil, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add the buttermilk mixture and 1/3 cup water to flour mixture. Stir until moist batter forms. Let rest.
Beat egg whites in a medium sized bowql with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain.
Cook on heated waffle iron using about 1/3 cup batter for each 4 inch waffle. Keep warm in oven until serving.
Cranberry Syrup
In a small saucepan combine:
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup cranberries
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. grated orange peel
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Simmer until sugar dissolves amd cranberries burst to thicken syrup. Serve warm syrup over waffles.
Chili with Cornbread Dumplings
Chili:
1 package Morning Star Farms Vegetarian Ground Crumbles or 1 can Loma Linda Vegeburger
2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 28 oz. Can diced tomatoes
2 15 oz cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 small can diced green chile peppers
Dumplings:
1 1/3 cups bisquick
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/3 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup corn kernels
Paprika
Coat a dutch oven with nonstick spray or a bit of oil and warm over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic, cook until desired doneness. Add MSF Ground Crumbles and brown for about 5 minutes. Add the seasonings. Stir in the tomatoes (with juice), beans, tomato sauce, and chile peppers (with juice). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover & simmer.
Meanwhile, in large bowl, stir together Bisquick, cornmeal, cheese, and seasonings. In a 1 cup measure, combine the milk and corn. Pour into the cornmeal mixture and mix, just until moistened. Drop the dumplings by heaping tablespoons onto the chili, covering the surface, but with a little chili showing between dumplings. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean.
Sunshine Salad
This salad is delicious anytime! It was given to me by my children’s great-great grandmother. You can easily double this recipe. I always do!
Sunshine Salad
1 3 oz. orange gelatin
1/2 cup sugar
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 can mandarin oranges
1 8-oz. carton sour cream
Mix gelatin and sugar. Dissolve in 1 cup boiling water. Let cool several minutes. Blend in sour cream. Add fruit. Refrigerate until set.
Rock Candy
Rock Candy
- from The Prairie Girl’s Guide to Life by Jennifer Worrick
What you need:
- clean glass jar
- 6-inch ice cream sticks
- pencil
- tape
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- food coloring
In a saucepan, heat (but do not boil) 2 cups of the sugar and the water. Stir slowly until the sugar is completely dissolved. Gradually add a few drops of food coloring – your choice – and the remaining sugar, stirring continuously until all the sugar is dissolved.
Pour your colorful sugar water into a clean glass jar. Tape the sticks to a pencil and suspend them across the mouth of the jar so that the ends hang into the liquid.
Crystals suitable to eat will form in a hour and continue to grow for several days to a week. Pieces can be broken off and eaten after the first hour, but try to resist the urge to suck on them.
Although you may see modest results quickly, larger rock-candy crystals will take time to form. Good things come to those who wait, and pretty sticks of candy are yours to be had if you show a bit of patience.
Yields 12 ounces
Boiled Peanuts
I grew up in Georgia. One of my favorite snacks was always boiled peanuts. In Georgia, you can find roadside stands everywhere that sell boiled peanuts. So, when we went to Cleveland, GA this week we stopped at a roadside stand and snacked. On our way home, we stopped at the Farmer’s Market in Asheville, NC and purchased a 1/2 bushel of raw peanuts so we could make our own. Today I am boiling up a pot of peanuts. They are especially yummy when eaten hot.So here’s the recipe:
Boiled Peanuts
1 pound of raw peanuts
1/4 cup kosher salt (or 2 Tbsp table salt)
4 cups water
2 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning, (optional)
Thoroughly rinse raw unshelled peanuts in water.Put water, salt, seasoning, peanuts in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Cover. Boil for 3 hours or all day until peanuts are nice and soft. They shouldn’t be crunchy and shoud sink to the bottom of the pot. Drain. You can freeze leftover peanuts (or double and triple the recipe and plan on freezing) in a freezer bag or container and they will keep for a few months.
Freezer Slaw
This recipe was submitted to us by Carolyn.
Freezer Slaw with Cabbage and Cucumbers
1 gallon chopped cabbage
1 tablespoon salt
4 small onion
4 cucumber
2 carrots
2 small peppers
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 cups sugar
1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
Mix cabbage and salt. Let stand 30 minutes, then drain. Chop the onions, cucumbers, carrots, and peppers. Add to the cabbage, along with the celery seed. Set aside. Boil the sugar, vinegar, and water for 1 minute. When cold pour over the cabbage mixture, mixing well. Let stand 5 minutes before putting into containers to freeze.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter, Rosemary and Caramelized Onions
I made these delicious sweet potatoes the other night, and wow they were good! Usually, when I make sweet potatoes I either make them into a sweet casserole with a marshmallow or pecan topping or I will serve them baked with butter and brown sugar. I love either of those dishes! But this was such a yummy change!
Okay, so I baked my sweet potatoes the day before while I was baking another dish. I don’t especially like peeling really hot potatoes so this way, they were totally cool when I peeled them the following day. But, you could do this all in the same day.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter, Rosemary, and Caramelized Onions
4 cups peeled and mashed sweet potatoes
1 stick butter
1 onion diced
1 tsp. dried rosemary
In a pot, melt butter and add onions. Cook over medium heat until onions are soft and beginning to brown and butter is browned. Add rosemary and cook for a couple of minutes to infuse butter with rosemary flavor. Add mashed sweet potatoes and combine well. Stir constantly until potatoes are reheated and steaming. Turn off pot and cover until ready to serve. This recipe is easily doubled or tripled!
Freezer Method: Add 2 tbsp. orange juice juice to the mashed sweet potatoes to prevent darkening. Pack into freezer bags and freeze for later use. Perfect for make ahead Thanksgiving preparations!
Taco Soup for the Crockpot
This is one of my family’s favorite crockpot recipes! I usually double the recipe for my crew!
Taco Soup
2 cans of kindey beans
2 cans of pinto beans
2 cans of corn
1 large can of diced tomatoes (I have no idea why the can wasn’t in this picture. I know I put it in. This is a mystery.)
1 can tomatoes and chiles
3 tbsp. or 1 packet taco seasoning
1 package Morning Star Farms Ground Crumbles or 1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained (optional)
shredded cheese and sour cream for garnish
Add ingredients to crockpot and stir. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5. The longer it cooks the better! Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.
Note: I use the MSF Crumbles (available at health food stores or even your Super Wal-Mart or grocery store) or even TVP granules in the place of ground beef. Using TVP makes this recipes excellent for your Prepared Food Storage Pantry!
Visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesday for more mouth watering recipes!
