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More special events: . . . |
 Spaghetti, lasagna, meat ball subs, pickled eggs, Harvard beets and a red molded jello salad with tiny marshmallows in it. Or how about a pink salad in a heart mold. (Recipe and picture follow) or a plate of red jello hearts on a plate? |
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 Being creative doesn't have to be expensive -- use your imagination -- look around and see what you can use! Make some cheery decorations with construction paper and yarn. Cut out different size hearts on white, red and pink construction paper. Cut a long piece of yarn and glue it between 2 hearts so they can be hung up and move when someone walks by them. Don't forget to write a 'love' message on both sides of the hearts!
Red food is easy -- Spaghetti and Lasagna are on the top of the list. So is red jello, strawberries, cherry pie, red velvet cake, red beet salad, salsa and tortillas, butterfly hotdogs, raspberry punch and cream soda ... the possibilities are endless. This year we played Valentine Bingo with conversation hearts. Everyone wrote the sayings of the candy hearts on the spaces of their bingo card, and then hearts were drawn as in regular bingo. Candy bars were the prizes ... what else? Look on the internet for games. We also played a game called 'Test Your Candy Knowlege', using questions found on internet Valentine sites. Start early in your planning -- you'll find more ideas than you have time to use!! |
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(A dark, rich chocolate -- just right for a ‘chocoholic’!) Chocolate Crust Blend dry ingredients together; add butter and blend until most sandy texture forms. Add water and mix until dough comes together. Press dough evenly onto bottom of lightly greased pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350 until crust is dry looking and slightly puffed, about 12 minutes. Cool completely before adding topping. Chocolate Mousse Melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring; add coffee. Cool to room temperature. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Whip cream until thickened, then gradually beat in sugar, beating until stiff. Beat egg whites with salt until stiff. Gently fold egg whites into cream. Stir about 1/3 of cream and egg mixture into chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly. Then add the rest of the cream and egg mixture and fold it in gently. Pour the mousse over the chocolate crust and refrigerate until set. |
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VALENTINE PENCIL POPS
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| Great idea for kids school lunches–a lollipop on a pencil. I found these pencil toppers at Loranns. When you click on the site look for pencil pop refills.
These lollipops are easy to make, but are definitely NOT for children because the syrup gets too hot. Just lay the pencil pop or lollipop stick in a lightly sprayed mold. Pour in the hot syrup, cool to room temperature and remove. The poppers will then fit nicely over the eraser end of a pencil. I got the Valentine pencils at a craft store. I then covered the lollipop with a ‘sucker’ bag (also purchased at Loranns) and tied them with a red ribbon. The kids loved them!
Lightly spray molds with cooking spray. Mix all the ingredients, except the food coloring, in medium size pan and stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil without stirring. When temperature reaches 260, add the food color. Do Not stir, the boiling will incorporate it. Watch carefully now and remove from heat when temperature reaches 300. CAREFULLY pour the hot mixture into a glass pitcher. This will make it easier to pour into the molds. Fill molds. After they have cooled, remove from molds. To make more, reheat the remaining mixture in the microwave and continue until all syrup is used. |
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HEART PRETZEL SNACKS
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 Use a small pretzel shape–wagon wheel or small square. Preheat oven to 300. Put pretzel pieces on a cookie or baking sheet. Place a white chocolate wafer (available in craft stores) on top of each pretzel. Put tray in the oven and watch carefully. Test wafer with your finger after 2 minutes to see if it is soft. (It doesn’t take long for them to get soft!) Remove from oven and immediately add sprinkles or candy decorations. Allow to harden and remove. These store well–if they’re not eaten right away! |
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| JELLO HEARTS | ||
 Make jello in a jelly roll pan and then use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the hearts. Use different size cutters if you have them and pile them high on a pretty plate. What to do with the left over jello ‘scraps”? Put them in a bowl and offer them to the first one in the kitchen! |
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Tomato Aspic (A Molded Pink Salad) 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin, softened in 1/2 cup cold water2 c. tomato juice 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp.confectioners sugar dash cayenne and celery salt bay leaf, small onion and celery leaves 1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened 1 c. mayonnaise Simmer for 15 minutes: tomato juice, salt, sugar, cayenne, celery salt, bay leaf, chopped onion and celery leaves; strain and cool slightly. In medium bowl, mix cooked ingredients with cream cheese, mayonnaise; add softened jello. Cool; pour into oiled heart mold. Chill until firm. You can also add small, cooked shrimp (canned also) to this recipe. |
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