Pregnancy
Valentine's Day Recipes
Recipes
Check out the following ideas to treat your valentine to a sweet homemade concoction or special picnic lunch.
Sweet and Salty
Feed your honey's sweet tooth with these colorful and tasty chocolate-covered pretzels. A handmade decorated cookie tin makes a perfect storage container for your gift.
Time frame: One to two hours
Level: Easy
What you need:
- Bag of mini pretzels
- Cookie sheet
- Bag of Hershey Kisses
- Cooling rack
- Bag of red, pink, and white M&Ms (These can be found in stores around Valentine's Day.)
- Plain cookie tin
- Picture of Cupid or heart rub-on transfer
- Popsicle stick
- Plastic wrap
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the pretzels in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
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Unwrap Hershey's Kisses and put one on top of each pretzel. Put the cookie sheet into the preheated oven.
Bake until the Hershey Kiss is melted, approximately five minutes. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and press an M&M onto the middle of the melted chocolate kiss. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool.
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Place the rub-on transfer, tacky side down, of Cupid or a heart onto the lid of a tin canister, and rub it gently with a Popsicle stick until it is completely transferred to the lid.
Place a sheet of pink plastic wrap in the bottom of the can and layer the pretzels into it, putting plastic wrap in between each layer.
Chocolate Fundue
Help the endorphins kick in by sharing this yummy chocolate concoction with your special someone. Take the time to enjoy this dessert together and sweeten your relationship.
Present Pointers
You could pair a fondue set with the ingredients for cheese fondue or chocolate fondue (or both) to make a great gift basket for a special friend. For a cheese fondue, you could include a fondue pot with forks, assorted cheeses (usually Gruyere), French bread, fresh vegetables, and a fondue cookbook. A bottle of wine, for both drinking and making the fondue, would complement your gift. For a dessert fondue, include the ingredients listed in the “Chocolate Fundue” project along with a bottle of dessert wine. Place the ingredients in a basket filled with crepe paper filler, and add some shrink-wrap and a bow for a finishing touch.
Time frame: One hour
Level: Easy
What you need:
- One pint of fresh strawberries
- Two kiwis
- Two bananas
- Pound cake
- Serving plate or tray
- One 12-ounce bag chocolate chips
- 2⁄3 cup half-and-half
- Two tablespoons orange liqueur or brandy
- Fondue pot
- Fondue forks
- Sterno
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Wash and core the strawberries. Peel the kiwis and cut them into wedges. Peel the bananas and cut them into slices. Cut the pound cake into cubes.
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Arrange the ingredients on a serving plate or tray.
Heat the chocolate and half-and-half in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the liqueur.
Pour the chocolate mixture into a fondue pot and light the Sterno underneath. Keep the flame low so the chocolate doesn't scorch.
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Place the cut up fruit and pound cake on fondue forks and dip away!
More on: Valentine's Day Activities for Kids
Excerpted from:
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Making Great Gifts © 2001 by Marilee LeBon. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
To order this book visit the Idiot's Guide web site or call 1-800-253-6476.
