Treat Your Sweetie!

This romantic valentine dinner for two comes with a double helping of love.

By, Marcy Cella, L’Anse, Michigan

Last Valentine’s Day, I surprised husband, Dave, with an invitation to join me for a romantic dinner for two that evening, "Just because I love you."

I had lots of fun preparing Hearty Lasagna. Before adding the top layer of cheeses, I cut a heart from foil and placed it in the center of the pan. That worked like a reverse stencil—when I removed the foil after baking, the melted cheeses formed a heart-shaped "frame" for the rich red tomato-meat sauce underneath.

Hearts cut from red peppers and a tomato rose dressed up my Sweetheart Salad. Besides having a delicious sweet-tart taste, the Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing is so pretty you will want to serve it on the side in a glass pitcher.

Refrigerated crescent rolls gave me a head start on Heart-Shaped Herbed Rolls.

And no Valentine’s Day would be complete without Frosted Valentine Cookies. I wrote names and sayings with icing on the chocolate frosting.

As Dave entered our candlelit dining room to be seated, I sang My Funny Valentine just for fun. The evening was a success!