Planning a menu for your family is hard - but thanks to Catherine McCord it doesn’t have to be! The Weelicious founder has a Valentine's themed recipe for every meal of the day that the whole family will enjoy.
Breakfast
Valentine Strawberry Heart Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 large strawberries, cored, sliced lengthwise into 4-5 pieces to resemble hearts
Directions:
1. Whisk the egg, buttermilk and oil in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
4. Heat a large pan or griddle over medium heat and grease with butter or oil.
5. Pour about 2 tablespoons of the pancake mixture onto the griddle, gently press a strawberry slice onto the top and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Flip the pancakes and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
Note: If you do not have buttermilk you can make it by adding 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. This mix also works beautifully with any type of milk you prefer!
Lunch
Heart Pizzettes
Ingredients:
1 pound pizza dough, room temperature
1/3 cup pizza sauce
3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray.
3. Sprinkle a little flour on your work surface and use a rolling pin to roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick.
4. Using a 4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out the dough and place onto baking tray.
5. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of pizza sauce onto dough leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. Sprinkle with cheese and place any additional toppings on top.
6. Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly.
Dinner
Ravioli Pesto Hearts
Ingredients:
1 12-ounce Package Wonton Wrappers
1 batch of Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Pesto
2 Tbsp water
Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling
Directions:
1. Using a 3″ heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut the wonton wrappers into hearts (cut 30 hearts to make 15 ravioli, though you may have enough filling to make a few more).
2. Place 1 tsp pesto in the center of one wonton heart.
3. Dip finger in a small bowl of water and dab around edges of the wonton heart.
4. Top with a dry wonton heart and gently press the edges together to seal.
5. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.
6. Gently place several hearts in the water at a time and cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
7. Remove ravioli hearts from water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate.
8. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Dessert
Raspberry Cream Cheese Heart Tarts
Ingredients:
1/2 cup raspberries
1/4 cup whipped cream cheese
1 tablespoon honey
1 14-ounce box refrigerated pie dough (2 sheets), thawed if frozen (you can substitute your favorite pie crust recipe for store-bought. Make enough for 2 crusts)
water
For Raspberry Icing:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup frozen raspberries, defrosted
1 tablespoon milk or water
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the raspberries, cream cheese and honey in a bowl. Using the back of a fork, mash the raspberries with the cream cheese, leaving some pieces of raspberry intact.
3. Roll the pie crust 1/4 inch thick and using a 4-inch heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out hearts (or, if you are using packaged pie crust just unroll and cut out hearts).
4. Place one heart on a lightly floured work surface and place 2 tsp of the cream cheese mixture in the very center, leaving a 1/4″ border around the cut-out.
5. Lightly dip your index finger into a cup of water and “brush” the border with the water (this will allow the two sides of the heart to adhere to one another).
6. Top with another heart and take the tines of a fork and gently press down along the edges to adhere (making sure the cream cheese mixture stays inside the heart pocket). With a toothpick, poke some holes in the top of the heart to remove any air pockets.**
7. Place on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
8. While the hearts are baking, take the defrosted raspberries, place in a strainer and press down with the back of a spoon to release raspberry juice into a bowl — should be about 2 tablespoons of juice depending on how juicy the raspberries are.
9. Whisk in the milk into the raspberry juice, then slowly pour in the powdered sugar to make icing.
10. When cool, take a spoon and spread the raspberry icing over the hearts.
11. Serve.
* You can use prepared Pie Crusts too such as Pillsbury or your favorite brand
** To Freeze: place hearts on a cookie sheet and freeze for one hour. Remove hearts and place in a Ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 3 months. When ready follow steps 7-11, adding an extra 3 minutes to the baking time.