A Valentine's Day to Remember

Phil and I have never really been ones to make a big deal out of Valentine's Day. Last year we babysat overnight for a friend and ordered Qdoba to go and watched movies all night. This year was no exception to the simplicity. We wanted to keep it simple and just spend the day like we would any other day, making sure our love for one another was made known.

Phil began the day by making me breakfast in bed. It wasn't a surprise (mainly because our kitchen is next to our bedroom and it is LOUD) but mostly because Phil was so excited to do it that he told me the night before that he was going to. He woke up 2 hours before he normally does and went downstairs to prepare my favorite pancakes (Lemon Ricotta Pancakes) with Raspberry sauce. He even made coffee! It was really very sweet. We enjoyed eating together and spending time in the presence of one another before continue on with our daily duties.

Inspired by one of my friends husbands telling me how special it was this his wife made a delicious cheesecake for their valentines date over the weekend I decided to surprise Phil with a homemade pie. I am not really a pie person. The pies were always my sisters job so this was a BIG deal! I found a recipe for whole wheat pie crust online and was able to make enough dough for two pie crusts! The cutting in of the butter was NOT fun. I need to add a pastry cutter to my list of must have kitchen appliances! For the filling of the pie I used this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie. I also added 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips. It turned out delicious. I am going to try to make pie/dessert making part of my normal monthly cooking routine!
Once Phil got home from work we set to work preparing our own Valentine's Dinner. Phil and I love to cook together but it is something that rarely happens with my workout schedule and our evening church activities. Usually I start a meal and leave it on the stove for him to finish when he gets home but tonight we wanted to take our time and cook together. We enjoyed Roasted Red Pepper Hummus as we cooked. We made strip steak, green beans, mashed potatoes and salad. It was really yummy! I also prepped tomorrow nights meal while Phil was out at the grill. We enjoyed our meal by candlelight.



Valentine's Day is often thought of as a silly Hallmark holiday but I think it is good for all of us to have this yearly reminder of love and the blessing it is to share love with someone else whether it be a spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, parents, child, aunt, or uncle.