Valentine's Day Menu

Today is Valentine's Day. I planned a quiet dinner at home with just me and my Valentine. Everything we ate tonight came from the church cookbook. I started cooking at 1:30 and we finally sat down to dinner at 7:30. Nothing I cooked was hard, it all just took awhile and I enjoyed every bit of the time I spent in the kitchen. Everything was well worth the wait. Thank you ladies who contributed these delicious recipes. You helped make Valentine's Day very special.

Our main course was Laurie H.'s Chicken Cordon Bleu and I also prepared her Creamy Stuffed Potatoes as a side. Laurie no longer attends our church, but the one thing I remember about her is her beautiful voice.

I prepared Jill H.'s Fresh Spinach Salad to go along with the chicken and potatoes. Terry is not much of a "fru-fru" salad guy, but he asked for seconds on this one. Jill, I was blown away. Jill has worked with me ministering to the children of our church and community for more years than I can count. Her dedication to children's choir is very appreciated. We have had many good times at Kidz Kamp. She used her giftedness as a teacher in children's Sunday School for several years. I know I can always count on her to work in Vacation Bible School. Her four kids have also made a significant and colorful impact on our children's ministry. There are several more recipes in the cookbook from Jill, I will save other comments for later posts.

For dessert I made one of my own contributions-Old Fashioned Cheesecake Deluxe. Cheesecake is one of Terry's favorites. I used to make it for him every Valentine's Day and Birthday. We try to stay away from too many rich sweets these days being our age and weight and all. I have not made the cheesecake in several years, so it was a real treat tonight. Tomorrow I will have to take it to work to keep Terry and I from eating the whole cake.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

6 chicken breast filets 6 slices bacon

1 c. sour cream 1 can cream of mushroom soup

6 slices American cheese

6 slices cooked ham

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Brush one side of filet with sour cream. Layer cheese and ham on filet. Roll to enclose filling and wrap with bacon. Secure with wooden toothpick. Place in baking dish and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Pour soup over chicken and bake for 15 minutes or until tender.

Creamy Stuffed Potatoes

4 lg. baking potatoes 1 c. sour cream

Vegetable oil 1 t. salt

8 slices bacon 1/2 t. pepper

1/2 c. chopped green onion 1/2 t. paprika

1/4 c. grated Parmesan

Scrub potatoes thoroughly and rub skins with oil; bake at 400 for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until done. Cool to touch. Slice skin away from top of potatoes. Scoop out pulp. Leaving shells intact; mash pulp. Cook bacon until crisp; drain and crumble, reserving 3 T drippings in skillet. Saute onion in bacon drippings until tender. Combine potato pulp, bacon, onion, Parmesan, sour cream, salt adn pepper. Stuff shells with mixture and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes.

Fresh Spinach Salad

1 to 2 bunches spinach 1 c. Canola oil

Strawberries 1/3 c raspberry wine vinegar

Mandarin Oranges 2 to 4 T honey

Mushrooms, opt. 2 T poppy seed

2 T dijon mustard

Combine spinach, strawberries, oranges, and mushrooms. Mix together mustard, oil, vinegar, honey and poppy seed. Serve as dressing over the salad.

Old Fashioned Cheesecake Deluxe

Crust:

1 1/2 pkgs. graham crackers 4 T butter

2 T sugar

Filling:

1 1/2 lbs. cream cheese 8 eggs

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 c sugar (this ingredient is left out in the church cookbook) 2 T lemon juice

2 t vanilla 16 oz sour cream

Crush graham crackers and add sugar; mix in 10-inch springform pan. Pat down and from crust on bottom and partially up sides of pan. Beat softened cream cheese until smooth; add sugar, sour cream, milk, lemon juice and vanilla; add eggs, one at a time until thoroughly mixed. Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Shut oven off and leave in oven for 1 hour. Remove and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.