I don’t care if you’re married or single or widowed or dating or whatever…in my mind Valentine’s Day is a chance to remind everyone that God’s banner over us is love, that God Himself is our ultimate husband, champion, warrior, shepherd, redeemer…
What better reason to celebrate, right?!
Spoiler alert: Not to be sexist, but if you’re a guy, or if you’re in a season with toddlers and NO TIME even to go to the bathroom, or you hate recipes or being “crafty” you may want to delete this right now. Ok, I’ve warned you…now carry on.
A couple of years ago at Easter, my friend Heather gave me this vase within a vase, filled with multi-colored jelly beans on the outside. I thought it was so cute I decided to adapt the idea for Valentine’s Day. Warning: Unless you choose a candy you don’t like, it’s hard not to eat the decorations 🙁 !
I’ve made star shaped croutons to give away at Christmas before, so I thought I’d try heart shaped ones.
Parmesan Croutons
English Muffin bread
Olive flavored cooking spray (I used butter)
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Place slices of bread on jelly roll pan and put in freezer for 30 minutes. Remove and use small heart cookie-cutter to cut croutons (I found them at Michaels).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat bread stars with cooking spray. Toss bread stars with cheese, salt, and pepper. Bake 10 minutes or til golden. Put in cellophane bag to accompany soup you drop off for a new Mama.
This salad recipe from my friend, Kitty doesn’t call for croutons, but it’s awesome and seems Valentiney 🙂
Salad part (you figure out how much 🙂 ):
- Romaine lettuce
- Green onion
- Either raspberries or strawberries
- Crumbled bacon
- Blue Cheese
- Candied pecans or almonds
Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 cup raspberry vinegar
1/2 cup salad oil
1 t. salt
1 t. dry mustard
1/2 cup sugar
Blend in blender and add poppy seeds
I’m hosting a couple of gatherings over the next week so I pulled out the bunting I made last year.
