Make Your Valentine's Day Delicious

What's Valentine's Day without strawberries. They are a classic romantic food. They are packed with vitamin c and bring a smile to everyone's face. I can guarantee your special someone will love these fun festive favorites. Anything shaped like a heart is good for you, I promise! 

Homemade Poptart Minis
1 package of Pillsbury Pie Crust (includes two crusts)
    You can sub gluten free pie crust
1 jar of store-bought lemon curd (top shelf)
1 1/2 tablespoons strawberry jam
1 egg
1 tablespoon of water
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
Rainbow sugar sprinkles
Instructions
Prepare egg wash by whisking egg and water together.
Trim pie dough into a square, then divide into four rectangles. Repeat with second pie dough.
Brush edges of bottom crusts with egg wash, then fill with one tsp of lemon curd on the bottom and a stripe of strawberry jam on the top of each pie crust rectangle.
Seal edges by pressing down with fork and use toothpick to poke holes in top crust.
Brush with egg wash and bake at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes.
While pastries are baking, prepare glaze by mixing powdered sugar with lemon juice.  Remove 1 tablespoon of glaze and mix in strawberry jam and whisk until smooth.
Once pastries have cooled slightly, top with glaze or you could add more festive sprinkles. 




Strawberry Spinach Salad

1lb baby spinach, rinsed and dry
2 C strawberries sliced
1/3 C toasted almonds
1 medium shallot sliced thinly

Dressing:
1/2 lemon juiced
2 T white wine vinegar (seasoned rice is great too)
1/3 cup splenda, agave or sugar
1 T lite olive oil
1/2 tsp. poppy seeds
salt and pepper

Recipe and Photo Here

The Best Donut You've Ever Had  Makes about 12 donuts (2" round)
You'll need:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
8 oz (1/2 lb) ricotta, whole or skim
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
Canola oil, for frying (or another oil with a high smoke point)
Deep-fry thermometer
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add sugar, eggs, ricotta, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Mix until just combined.
Pour the oil into a deep, heavy pot. Leave at least two inches of space at the top for safety. Using a deep-fry thermometer, heat the oil over medium until it reaches 325-375 degrees F.
Fry a test doughnut: Using a small ice cream scoop or a spoon, drop a scoop of batter in and turn it occasionally. It should take 3-4 minutes to turn golden brown. Carefully remove and cut in half to check if it's cooked all the way through. Test another if needed.
Fry the remaining doughnuts. Don't overcrowd the pot; fry in batches. Place doughnuts on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil.

Donut Glaze
1/4 cup whole milk or Almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
1/2 tsp strawberry or almond flavored extract
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Pink food coloring
Sprinkles


Combine milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan and heat over low heat until warm. Sift confectioners’ sugar into milk mixture. Whisk slowly, until well combined. Remove the glaze from the heat and set over a bowl of warm water. Dip doughnuts into the glaze, one at a time, and then place them on wax paper to set.



This next recipe is a winner. I've been using it for years. I adapted it slightly from the original, but that's how we all make our mark. The recipe comes from here.  Look for my different variations. If you're having a hard time getting your children to eat salmon or white fish, this strawberry BBQ sauce will have your kids begging for you to make it for them. We put this sauce on salmon, steak like flank and london broil, I put it on chicken and pork chops. It's very versatile and a major go to in your fridge.




Strawberry BBQ Sauce

1 C ketchup
1/2 C honey
2 T. Strawberry Jam
1 1/2 T Chipolte sauce from the can
1/2 C diced strawberries
2 Garlic cloves minced
2 tsp. liquid smoke
1/4 tsp. mustard (dried or prepared)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes or powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 small shallot minced
1 tsp. parsley flakes 
1 tsp. dried basil
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

In a medium saucepan, combine all wet ingredients including strawberries and stir until combined. Cook on medium until it starts to bubble. Add all dry seasoning and turn on low. Cook until your desired consistency. You could certainly add more spice if you feel like it. Package up into a jar with a tight fitting lid. You can store this bbq sauce in the fridge for about 2-3 weeks. You can also process it in jars. Clean your jars, add bbq sauce, process in steam bath for 20 minutes.


BBQ Glazed Salmon

2 fillets of Salmon or any medium White fish like Halibut or Bass
2 heaping Tablespoons of your prepared strawberry bbq sauce. 
Cooking spray (I use coconut oil spray)
1 large piece of tinfoil
lemon wedge

Season your fish with salt and pepper and slather your bbq sauce on both sides. Heat your bbq grill on high and then place your tinfoil on top. Before you place your salmon fillets on the tinfoil, spray with your oil. Place your fillet on the foil and cook until the edges of your salmon become brown and the salmon starts to bring moisture up on top, flip your salmon only once. Depending on the size of your fillet, have a total grilling time of about 10 minutes. White fish takes slightly longer. We finish with a little wedge of lemon and usually serve the bbq salmon with fresh green beans and risotto.