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For Valentines Day we had not planned on doing much and then Victoria started asking everyone she worked with what they were doing. No one else was doing anything but sitting at home too. While I probably be there with them doing nothing. We both thought about having everyone over for a dinner party. After come careful negotiations with Victoria, I came up with a mini-theme Italian Valentines Day dinner. I say mini-themed because I can just be strict enough to stick to it. I had an appetizer or two that had it and both entrees had the theme too. For desert I forgot the theme entirely and brought in the Valentines Day into it. Here is what we enjoyed.

Appetizers
Homemade red and white sangrias
Bruchetta de Pomadoro
Bruchetta Grecca
Roasted garlic and spinach dip
Vegetable Crudités (aka veggie tray)
Entrées
Mediterranean Chicken and Pasta
Penne pasta with hand rolled meat balls
Desserts
Waldorf Astoria cake (aka red velvet cake) with cream cheese frosting
Chocolate fondue with marshmallows, strawberries, bananas, and pound cake
Vanilla bean ice cream

Most items I made from scratch if I had the time. The recipes I guess would give away how much work I put into it. I will say it was a ton of work and I was nervous that I would run out of time. It was a blast! There are always lessons learned but I probably couldn’t have done it better than what I had planned. I’ll be posting all the recipes that I used in a couple of days. Keep an eye out…

After having tacos last night, I think I finally got a recipe ready to post. I have been working on it for awhile and need to get it right before sharing. So for all you taco lovers that wanted tacos and forgot to buy the taco seasoning packet when picking up the groceries.

• 1 lb of lean ground beef (90% lean)
• 1/4 cup flower
• 1 T chili powder (you can decrease the amount to turn down the heat. Try up to 2 tsp.)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp or dash of garlic powder
• 1/2 cup of water

Mix all ingredients well then cook until meat has browned. Serve on taco shells and top as desired.

 Ready to print recipe: Beef Tacos

I got this recipe from a girl I once knew.  This is so easy and is great to have some extra ready in the freezer for later.

Ingredients

• 2 cans of corn, drained
• 2 cans of pinto beans, drained
• 2 cans of chicken stock
• 1 small can of Rotell tomatoes or tomatoes with jalapenos or green chiles
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• Bag of tortilla chips
• Bag of shredded Kraft Mexican 4 cheese

Directions

Cook ground beef and taco seasoning per package directions.

Combine in large pot corn, pinto beans, chicken stock, diced tomatoes and cooked ground beef and bring to boil.

Serve over tortilla chips and top with cheese.

Ready to print recipe: Taco Soup