A special Valentines Day menu

Create delicious memories this Valentines Day by surprising your kids with a fun menu that starts at breakfast and ends with a cup of cider by the fireplace.

BREAKFAST:

A Leaning Tower of Hearts

Get creative and show your loved ones how much you care by making them a tower of heart-shaped pancakes using a heart shaped pancake mold or a large heart cookie cutter. Instead of regular syrup make a delicious topping by pureeing some strawberries (fresh or previously frozen) to which you’ve added a little sugar. For an extra special treat top with whipped cream.

Heart -Shaped EggsUse an egg form or a medium heart cookie cutter to make some fried eggs and you’re off to an egg’cellent start to your Valentine’s Day celebrations.

Hearty’ French Toast

Heart-shaped French Toast is a breeze with a large heart cookie cutter. Go one step further and sprinkle the French toast with a little icing sugar. Serve with a bowl of strawberries (fresh or previously frozen)

Strawberry Banana Smoothies

Mix up a smoothie in your blender with a combination of orange juice, frozen strawberries and bananas.

LUNCH:

Heart-Shaped Pizza

Make heart-shaped pizzas by creatively working your dough into a heart. A slight modification to a round ball of rolled dough will do the trick.

Heart-Shaped Sandwiches

Or, cut out heart sandwiches using a large heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Filled Heart Sandwiches

For another great sandwich idea, spread strawberry jam on one slice of bread, then use a cookie cutter to cut a heart shape out of a second slice. When you put the two slices together you have a beautiful red heart jam sandwich.

For a special Valentines Day beverage pour a 50/50 glass of cranberry juice and ginger ale. Top off with heart-shaped ice cubes made with cranberry juice (heart shaped ice cube trays are available in many dollar and department stores).

DINNER:

I Love You Pasta

Serve love pasta’ (spaghetti noodles shaped into a big heart with a tomato sauce centre) and heart-shaped garlic toast. Using a large heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut heart shapes out of several pieces of white bread. Spread on a little butter or margarine mixed with some garlic powder, Parmesan cheese and some dried parsley. Broil until brown.

Berry Punch

Serve adult wine and kid-friendly berry red punch in fancy glasses.

Heart Cake

Making a heart shaped cake without a special cake pan is easier than you think. Start with your favorite double cake recipe. The secret is to pour on half of the batter in one 8 or 9 inch square cake pan, and second half into the same size round cake pan. Bake. Once cooled, slice the round cake in half so you have two equal semi circles. The heart is created by placing the round halves on each side of the square cake. Decorate with your favourite icing and some candy decorations. Or, if using chocolate icing, top with chocolate shavings.

Wind down a chilly Valentines Day evening by cuddling with your kids and enjoying a cup of heart-warming cider and a good Valentine’s Day storybook.

Cranberry Apple Cider

2 cups cranberry juice

2 cups apple juice

5-6 cloves

2-3 whole cinnamon sticks

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes before serving.

I hope you enjoyed the above Valentines Day menu.