It’s always nice to find a few easy ways to fancy up the food on a holiday. Here are six super-easy ways to approach meals and dessert for Valentine’s Day. And the best part is that little ones will love helping out and most likely will eat what they make. And maybe serve bright red cranberry juice?
1. Super-easy Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
What you need: A pint of strawberries. A bag of chocolate chips. Sprinkles optional. A microwave. A refrigerator. (No double boiler needed!)
Grab a pint of strawberries and wash and dry them. Measure about a quarter cup of chocolate chips (extras to allow for snatched chips and put the chips in the microwave for one minute, or until melted. Stir the chocolate and, using a spoon, drip it onto each strawberry, one at a time OR dip each strawberry in the melted chocolate (a messier but more fun process). If you want to go all out – let the kids sprinkle the sprinkles on the warm chocolate. Put the coated strawberries on a plate and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
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2. Heart-shape Pancakes
What you need: Pancake batter, a heart-shaped cookie cutter, optional sprinkles, patience.
Mix your favorite batter and, pour the batter into heat-safe, heart-shaped cookie cutters on the pan. Add chocolate chips, blueberries, or any other special addition your family enjoys.
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3. Heart-shape Sandwiches
What you need: A sandwich and a heart-shaped cookie cutter will quickly make this into Valentine’s Day food. If you have a kid who hates crusts, you might already be using a cookie cutter on their sandwiches anyway.
Peanut or sunflower butter and jelly work great for this one, as do grilled cheese sandwiches.
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4. Heart-shape Pasta
What you need: Heart-shape pasta and tomato sauce and/or parmesan.
You can add tomato sauce for some extra Valentine’s Day coloring or serve it plain with parmesan for kids with plainer palates. Either way, it’s far more exciting than spaghetti AGAIN.
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5. Apple Slice Hearts
What you need: Apples. A knife. Maybe some caramel sauce (or chocolate sauce or melted chocolate chips).
Cut an apple into two wedges and place them together to make your own hearts. For extra holiday flair, add some caramel dipping sauce or even — ooh! — melted chocolate.
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6. St. Valentine’s Hot Cocoa
What you need: Milk or water, a hot chocolate packet, whipped cream or mini marshmallows, tiny cinnamon hearts.
Make a cup of hot chocolate. Top it with some whipped cream or mini marshmallows and a dash of tiny cinnamon hearts. It will make for a beautiful, festive treat with minimal effort, too. But make sure your kid actually likes cinnamon hearts. (Many kids find them just too hot.)
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