Happy Valentine's Day

Here are a few of our fun Valentine activities.
(F.Y.I. I still can't find my camera battery charger, so I had to take these pictures with my old digital camera. The quality isn't the greatest, but I really wanted to capture the memories.)

Cute Hanging Hearts
Super Valentine Presents
Nathaniel gave me flowers and Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones, a super cute book with lots of baby projects. I can't decide which project to work on first: crib set, booties, snuggle blanket, or stuffed cat.
I gave Nathaniel a cute coupon book with rides to campus, sleep-in Saturdays, guilt-free game play, and a gift card to our favorite grocery store. He loves to buy super expensive food (which usually doesn't fit in our budget) to make exquisite meals.

Romantic Dinner and DessertThe meal consisted of pan-cooked chicken in a white wine (alcohol removed) mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, rolls, and asparagus. I used the little bits left in the chicken pan to make a quick gravy. I used romaine lettuce in the salad and added cranberries, almonds, goat cheese, and mandarin oranges. I combined lemon juice and olive oil for the dressing. The meal was yummy and Grant-free (who now asks to go to bed between 6:45 and 7 at night).
For dessert we enjoyed Warmed Chocolate Cake. I got to enjoy leftover cake on Sunday . . . Nat got to enjoy a bite of my leftover cake on Sunday.

Here's the recipe, courtesy of Martha Stewart (I think).

Serves 6 (I halved the recipe and served it in two ramekins.)
4 ounces 60 - 75% dark chocolate bar, chopped
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for baking dishes
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
¾ cup granulated sugar, plus more for baking dishes
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
confectioners’ sugar, for serving

In a medium heatproof bowl, set over (but not touching) simmering water melt together the chocolate and butter. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together cornstarch and granulated sugar. In another medium bowl whisk together eggs and egg yolks Remove chocolate from heat and whisk in cornstarch mixture, then whisk in egg mixture until well combined. Transfer to a refrigerator until chilled, up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter six 6-ounce ramekins and coat the insides with granulated sugar, shaking out any excess. Divide chilled batter evenly between ramekins and place ramekins on a baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake until cakes are just set (they may still be a little liquid), 12 – 16 minutes (mine took about 20 minutes). You can tell that they are done when they puff up and look dry around the edges, a bit of cracking on the top.

Dust cakes with confectioners’ sugar---serve immediately.