Valentine's Day- What's For Dinner?

Tomorrow is that day- the day single people seem to dispise, the day men feel pressured to commit to something more, and the day married people try to find time to celebrate.

With 3 kids, we've always got a tough time getting out of the house for any amount of time, let alone for a date. Now that we live in Lansing, we don't have relatives or baby sitters who will watch the kids for us.

Instead of trying to find sitters, we are just staying home. Besides- who says Valentine's Day is only red punch and paper cards to the kids?

Last weekend, I bought small gifts for each of the kids. I also bought a cheap tinsel table center peice at Walmart, and I want to pick up 3 mylar balloons to use, so each of the kids have one after dinner.

For dinner, I wanted something we don't always make, but something still special. I enjoy making homemade pizza mostly from scratch (ok, sue me, I do use a dough kit and prepare the dough that way- but I DO add spices and seasonings to the dough, and what not), and it's something that the kids and Nick always love, too.

Today while grocery shopping, I grabbed enough stuff to make 2 homemade pizzas. What I do is add italion seasoning, garlic powder, and a tiny bit of red pepper to the dough while mixing it. It usually goes over pretty well, though. Then, once it's spread on the pan, I brush the dough with melted butter and garlic powder, and bake the dough for 5 minutes without toppings.

Afterthat, I add plenty of sauce and cheese, and pepperoni and ham, then sprinkle the top with more cheese. Nick gets his own with other stuff- usually mushrooms, maybe some onions if we have any, etc. He likes the "gross" stuff on his pizza. ;)

To go with the pizza, I'm going to make some rice crspie treats tonight. When the marshmallow is melted, I plan to add some red food dye to make it pink. After pressing it into the pan, but before it's hardened, I'll sprinkle the top with red sprinkles.

After dinner, the kids will get their gift bags. Each one has a small stuffed animal in it ($2.97 each at Wal-mart), a small heart shaped bar of soap ($.97 at Walmart), and a tin that has a large chocolate chip cookie in it ($1 at Walmart), plus a card for each of them.

I considered making a cheesecake, but I don't have a pie pan anymore (I used to have 3- what the heck happened to them??).

Do you have any special plans for Valentine's Day dinner tomorrow? Are you going out to dinner? Waiting for the weekend? Got vacation plans??