The first thing to decide is how fancy you desire this dinner date to be. You can keep it simple and spend more time whipping up a generous dessert or vice versa. Knowing the special person in question like you do, the choice won’t be too hard.

Simple Dinner Ideas

For those of you, who feel the need for speed, go with a dish that is easy to prepare. Since there will be just the two of you, opt for Cornish hens instead of a big roasting chicken. They are so small that you can marinate these little beauties before baking them for a flavor that will infuse through the meat.

Maybe red meat is more to your liking. Find the best cuts of steak or a small roast to be the main dish. New York strip steaks or a T-bone will have everyone’s mouth watering. You don’t usually eat it every day because they are so expensive so treat yourself and your companion. Steaks don’t take long to cook either.

Any dish that can be prepared ahead of time and slipped in the oven on Valentine’s Day is considered a simple dinner. Fix a casserole meal with only a few ingredients. You can do wonders with chicken breasts, rice, and cream soup.

Fancier Fare

Some of you may use Valentine’s Day as the time to stretch your cooking repertoire. In that case, you want to tantalize your sweetie with a feast for the eyes and the palate. It will take some time to prepare such a meal but that’s okay since it’ll be for a special person.

For a welcome change, consider doing a multiple course dinner. Serve an appetizer, then a salad, and then the dinner meal. Follow with a decadent dessert and coffee or a cognac. He or she will be impressed with a presentation like that.

Set the Mood

While dinner is cooking, have some sort of snack to set the mood for the meal and the rest of the evening. A few strawberries with a glass of champagne aren’t a bad way to begin. The combination of sweet strawberries and sparkling champagne will tickle the tongue and relax you both.

Are you thinking of a romantic dinner this year? Stay home and prepare the meal yourself. Make it a night to remember.

Broiled Shrimp and Bacon Wrappers

What You Need:

16 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 strips of bacon cut in half lengthwise
1/4 C butter style shortening, melted
1 T Parmesan cheese, grated
1 garlic clove, minced fine
1 t lemon juice

How to Cook It:

Turn on the broiler and allow it to heat while preparing the shrimp.

Wrap one slice of bacon around each piece of shrimp and secure it with a
wooden toothpick.

Place the melted shortening in a mixing bowl.

Stir in the Parmesan cheese until blended.

Add the garlic and lemon juice and whisk until completely combined.

Brush each shrimp thoroughly with the sauce.

Place in a single layer on a broiler pan.

Broil 6 minutes, turn and continue broiling 5 minutes or until the bacon is crisp.

Serving Size:  4

These little wonders make great appetizers before the Valentine’s meal or can be
used as the main course.  1/4 t salt and 1/4 t of pepper can be added to the
sauce if you wish.

New York Strip with Balsamic Mushrooms

What You Need:

2 (8 oz) New York Strip steaks (1 inch thick)
1/2 t coarse salt
1 T olive oil
1 T unsalted butter
6 oz. Portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 T balsamic vinegar

How to Make It:

Preheat the broiler.

Sprinkle both sides of the steaks with the salt.

Place the steaks on a broiler pan.

Broil 4 minutes then turn and continue broiling 3 minutes for medium rare.

Remove the steaks and place on plates loosely covered with foil.

Place the oil and butter into a skillet over medium heat.

Let the butter melt being sure to stir it into the oil.

Add the sliced mushroom and stir to coat.

Cook the mushrooms 4 minutes or until fork tender.

Add the garlic, stir and cook an additional 30 seconds.

Remove the skillet from the heat and add the vinegar stirring to coat.

Uncover the steaks and spread the mushroom mixture over the top just before
serving.

Serving Size:  2

Portobello mushrooms have a great meaty taste and go well with any type of
steak.  By adding the garlic and vinegar it gives them a special robust flavor.

Sinister Pork Chops in a Snap

What You Need:

1 t cumin
1 t chili powder
4 boneless pork chops
1 T canola oil
1 1/4 C mild salsa
1 t baking cocoa
1/8 t cinnamon
2 T cilantro, minced
1 green onion, chopped

How to Make It:

Place the cumin and chili powder together in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

Rub the pork chops with the mixture on both sides.

Place the canola oil into a large skillet over medium heat and allow it to heat up.

Place the pork chops into the hot oil and brown 4 minutes.

Turn and continue browning 3 minutes.

Place the salsa, cocoa and cinnamon into another small bowl and whisk to
combine.

Pour over the chops in the skillet and bring the mixture to a brisk boil.

Reduce the heat to low and cook 10 minutes or until the meat is fork tender.

Be sure to turn the chops once and stir the mixture a couple of times during
cooking.

Remove the chops to a serving plate and sprinkle the cilantro and green onion
over the tops.

Serving Size:  4

This recipe works for a fast Valentine’s Day dinner.  They only take about 20
minutes to prepare and cook. They are also a spicy touch to your Valentine’s Day
dinner.  Leave off the rub if you believe they are too spicy.

Love Me Do Shrimp Pasta

What You Need:

1/2 (16 oz) box linguine noodles
1 C shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with basil and garlic, drained well
1 (3 oz) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
handful fresh spinach leaves, torn

How to Make It:

Cook the linguine according to the package direction.

Rinse under cold water and drain well.

Place a skillet over medium heat on the stove.

Add the shrimp, tomatoes and the cream cheese.

Cook 4 minutes, stirring constantly until the shrimp are cooked through and the
sauce is creamy.

Place the spinach leaves into a large salad bowl.

Add the shrimp mixture and toss to combine the spinach.

Serving Size:  2

This is a romantic meal that will have your true love’s heart pounding.  Add a
salad and a romantic chocolate dessert to top off your night.

It is not too hard to sneak in a few healthy additions to the meal that your loved ones won’t mind at all. Whether it is a romantic dinner for two, family dinner, or a couples’ dinner party, employ some savvy to come up with a leaner meal.

Start off with a healthy snack that everyone can eat while dinner is baking. Instead of cookies and candies, put out a tray of veggies and fruit. The vegetables can be jazzed up with a vegetable cream cheese or Ranch dressing. For the fruit, use flavored fruit dip. Yogurt flavors like strawberry, peach, or blueberry work well also as a dip.

Get rid of the hot wings for appetizers and opt instead for chicken chunks breaded with Shake-n-Bake or regular breadcrumbs. Cubing boneless, skinless chicken breasts and rolling them in batter saves a lot of calories. Serve them with hot pepper sauce or regular hot sauce and your metabolism will rev up from the heat.

Toss a salad to go with dinner. Instead of store bought croutons on the top, use cubed pieces of wheat bread. Wash them with a little butter or reduced fat margarine and pop them into the oven to bake. They still add crunch to the salad with less fat than regular croutons. Even better would be to sprinkle the salad with shelled sunflower seeds to add crunch.

Soups are a great way to hide lots of vegetables for those who don’t take a shine to them. for Valentine’s Day, serve a simple soup like potato, vegetable, chicken noodle, or tomato. What soup you serve will depend on the meal. The point is that soup helps to fill you up without eating a lot of it.

Now for the meal. It is hard to eat healthy sometimes, especially if there is a holiday celebration going on. Well, Valentine’s Day is no different. Stick with recipes that use lean cuts of beef, pork, or chicken. Seafood can also be used.

Opt for lower fat ingredients in your recipes. If the main course recipe calls for heavy cream, substitute with half and half or light cream. Substitute margarine with butter. Avoid using too much salt. Use saltless seasonings to add flavor to the meal.

Let your healthy meals extend to Valentine’s Day. After all, we are supposed to show love to those who mean the world to us. Keep their heart healthy.

Crock Pot

Get those slow cookers working. We often use it when we know we’ll be late getting home so dinner will be ready. The slow cooker is an asset on Valentine’s Day also. Most of the crock pots on the market today have a removable inner pot that is fashionable enough to serve at the table.

Cooking with a crock pot will free you up to do other fun Valentine’s Day things instead of standing in the kitchen. Some meal ideas for the slow cooker: beef roast with vegetables, chicken cacciatore, roasted chicken with vegetables, Swedish meatballs. The crock pot can be set to cook slowly (ten hours) or a bit faster (4 hours).

Cook-ahead meals

Dinner can be harried even on Valentine’s Day. Watching boiling pots and hot skillets not to mention something in the oven can absolutely fry your brain. Free your mind to enjoy this day of love by trying a dish that is easy to prepare ahead of time and just needs to be baked on Valentine’s Day.

Casseroles are the easiest make-ahead dishes. They can feature beef, chicken, or pork. Even fish like salmon or tilapia can be marinated and dressed the day before and wrapped in foil to bake on Valentine’s Day. Avoid adding milk or eggs before you are ready to cook the meal. If the dish calls for cooked meat, cook and cube the meat the day before and combine all ingredients in the casserole dish when you are ready to pop it in the oven.

Five or Fewer Ingredients

Another alternative to the slow cooker or cooking ahead is using a recipe that has five or fewer ingredients. When you have fewer ingredients, prep time is cut dramatically. While the food is baking you can occupy yourself with spending time with the family.

With so few ingredients, kids can even help with dinner. To further cut preparation time, if anything such as vegetables need to be cubed, diced, or sliced so that the day before and refrigerate them.

Pasta dishes fall into this category. Besides the pasta, you usually have sauce and some sort of meat or seafood. The pasta, sauce, and meat can all cook at the same time which saves time.

On Valentine’s Day, you want to be occupied with family and/or your sweetie. Slaving in the kitchen is not in the game plan. With a little pre-planning, you’ll spend less time in the kitchen and more time having fun.
Family Valentine’s Dinner Ideas

Kids like to celebrate Valentine’s Day just like adults. Even if you have ideas about romantic plans for the evening, consider having dinner with the kids. Here are some ideas for a great dinner with the entire family.

Kids love to cook. It is an opportunity for them to make a mess and not get in trouble for it. Let them help with the dinner on Valentine’s Day. They probably have a few ideas for the meal.

Don’t expect a full seven course meal. Besides the fact that it takes too long to prepare, kids have simpler tastes than that. And, if you want to get them to bed at a decent hour so you still have time to spend together, choose a dish with minimal preparation.

Italians are known for love. Try an Italian dish for Valentine’s Day. Instead of ordering from Domino’s, create a pizza at home. Using a store-bought crust, roll it out and cut it into the shape of a heart. The heart will have to be exaggerated because once the dough rises the pizza will spread out and not look like a heart anymore.

Italians are also big on spaghetti. It takes about thirty minutes at the most to put together a spaghetti dinner. Add a salad for a filling meal to celebrate the holiday.

Burgers and fries are a simple meal but one that kids and the entire family can enjoy. Get the grill going or a grill pan. After the burgers are done, place them on a bun and use a heart shaped cookie cutter to turn those ordinary burgers into lovin’ from the grill.

When it comes to family, the meal will be special because it involves everyone celebrating their love together. For parents, a dinner complete with some of your child’s favorite dishes will make them smile. Family dinners on Valentine’s Day can be eclectic-the meal doesn’t have to have one theme but can be a combination.

Allow each person in the family to make a dish for the dinner. They can come up with their own idea of what to surprise everyone with for dinner. The kids will need your help shopping for what they need and using the stove, but you can still act surprised when they bring their finished creation to the table.

Valentine’s Day dinner for the family offers an opportunity to express sentiments of love to each member of your family. With busy schedules, making time to celebrate love together is a rare treat.