Valentines day recipes to make your loved ones

[Anna Michele]

With V-day on the way what a better place to share the recipes I probably won't end up making, in hopes that someone else can make their loved ones smile.

Happy Valentines Day!

[Anna Michele]

Strawberry Valentine Oreo Cookies Recipe:

(Recipe adapted from 30 Handmade Days)

Ingredients:
Cookies:
1 package of strawberry cake mix
2 eggs
3/4 cup of shortening

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 stick of butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
4 c. powdered sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together strawberry cake mix, eggs and shortening until well combined. The dough will be pretty thick. Roll dough into balls, making sure they are all similar in size. Place dough onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Immediately transfer cookies to a cooking rack.

Mix together cream cheese, butter, vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Spread onto cooled cookies and sandwich together.

*Makes 12-15 cookies after they are sandwiched together

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/...o-cookies.html

[Anna Michele]

Cupid Crunch
(Printable Recipe)

1 (24 oz) package vanilla Almond Bark
2 bags of lightly salted microwave popcorn, popped (approximately 16-20 cups popped popcorn)
1 1/2 cups Valentine candy corn
1 cup dry roasted, salted peanuts
1 1/2 cups M&Ms (Valentine colors)

Pop popcorn and place in a large bowl. The largest you have. Pour peanuts, candy corn, and M&Ms on top.

Break up almond bark. Melt according to package directions. Pour over popcorn mixture. Stir until everything is well coated and then spread out onto waxed paper, parchment, or foil. Let sit until completely dry and then break up into clumps.

[Anna Michele]

Pink Champagne Punch

1 12-ounce bottle white grape juice
1 6-ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 16-ounce pkg. frozen whole strawberries, thawed
1 12-ounce can lemon-lime soda, chilled
8 cherries (optional)

Combine 1/2 of the grape juice, lemonade, and strawberries in a blender. Whirl until smooth and pour into drink container. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with remaining juice, lemonade, and strawberries. Add soda and stir well. Pour into 8 fancy plastic glasses. Add a cherry to the glass for garnish.

Variation: You can substitute regular grape juice for white grape juice.

Note: Add more soda if you want a less slushy drink. Use plastic champagne glasses; they look great and won't break.

[Anna Michele]

Instead of making my own caramel, I got a little help from a yellow bag and a microwave.
Oh how I love modern convenience, especially when it comes to candy coated strawberries!
If you want to be real fancy, I suppose you could make your own salted caramel. But me? I’m just fine with these little nuggets. Melt them in the microwave with some sea salt.

One of the tricks to this recipe is to soak the strawberries briefly in ice water to perk up the green stem and improves the succulent texture of the strawberries.

Melt the caramel in the microwave, swirl the strawberry to coat, then into your choice of chopped nuts (quick, someone make them with pistachios!!).

I love messy caramel.

[blueeyetea]

This recipe came up in a magazine devoted to St-Valentines, but really it can be used anytime because it's so effortless and yummy.

Maple syrup marinated salmon

2 Salmon steaks of filets (about 3/4 lbs)
1/4 maple syrup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp ginger
Salt & pepper to taste.

In a ziploc bag, add maple syrup, soy sauce, mustard and ginger and mix well. Add salmon and marinate 2 to 3 hours, turning once in a while. Bake in a 375 F degree oven for 30 minutes, until fish flakes easily.

[Anna Michele]

Make you favorite batch of rice krispies and place them in a funnel to form a hershey kiss!!! then wrap with foil!!!

[Anna Michele]

http://www.momontimeout.com/2012/01/...et-valentines/

[Anna Michele]

http://www.butterwithasideofbread.co...x-mix.html?m=1

[Anna Michele]

http://www.lilaloa.com/2012/01/fuzzy...okies.html?m=1

[Anna Michele]

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/01/...nd-printables/

[Anna Michele]

‎[MUST TRY RECIPE!] FROZEN BANANA BITES

Ingredients

- 2 large bananas
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- Unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions

1. Set out a large plate with a piece of Reynolds parchment paper on it
2. Cut up the bananas into good-sized chunks. Each banana should give you around 5 to 6 pieces
3. Heat the peanut butter and chocolate chips in the microwave on high for about a minute. Then stir until smooth
4. Dip the banana pieces in the chocolate-peanut butter mixture. Lay them out leaving some space between them on the parchment paper. Then when you've "covered" them all, use the remaining mixture to spoon over the tops (for even more chocolate-y goodness)
5. Then sprinkle the unsweetened coconut flakes on top. Transfer to the freezer uncovered for about an hour until hardened

[Lynn49]

Very nice ideas!! Thank you for the links, Hon!!

[sweetmomma]

I saw an easy one earlier! It's raspberries with white chocolate chips! You just place the chocolate in the centre of the raspberry and voila!

[Anna Michele]

http://www.koreanamericanmommy.com/2...eart-pops.html

rice-krispy-heart-pops