Just in case you still need a chocolate treat for your Valentine today, here are a couple of super simple and fast ideas I pinned onto my Pinterest board.

Recently when I was at my parents house, my dad toasted us marshmallows over the fire in the fireplace.  Yum!  I had forgotten how much I love a golden brown toasted marshmallow.  The outside is slightly crispy while the inside is mushy and warm and gooey delicious.  Before you go strike a match and skewer a marshmallow, read on to find another simple way to enjoy toasted marshmallows and chocolate.  Consider it a S’more Dessert.  Feast your eyes on this…
                                                       
                                 
I think it would be great to do these in individual ramekins so you could double dip your graham cracker!

1 cup chocolate chips
2 Tbl milk

Melt chocolate and milk over low heat on the stove.  Pour into oven safe dishes and top with mini marshmallows.  Place under broiler just until the marshmallows begin to brown.  Serve with graham crackers or shortbread cookies.

Then for a simple way to enjoy Chocolate Covered Strawberries… use an ice cube tray
 First, place a little chocolate in the ice cube tray.  Place a halved strawberry on the chocolate, then spoon enough chocolate to cover the strawberry. Place in fridge to harden.  Voila!  **To melt chocolate – Place 1 bag chocolate chips in dish in microwave, stirring at 30 second intervals, until melted, then add 2 Tbl oil.

Another simple dessert idea that someone served my husband and me recently was this:

• Brownie Square
• Scoop of ice cream on brownie
• Spoonful of Cherry Pie Filling on ice cream
• Whipped topping

When my husband and I were dating, we were three hours apart.  Since that was the dark ages, there were no text messages, Skype calls, cell phone calls or emails.  The only phone calls were only long-distance ones in which one single call could cost more than a monthly cell phone bill would set you back today.  As a result, we called only on occasion, but depended instead on the postal system to deliver our daily letters to one another.

One day when I opened my letter from my love, I found a recipe clipped from a magazine enclosed inside the envelope.  I still have that page…

Handwritten at the bottom of that recipe he had written,

I took the obvious clue and made him the pie.  It is so rich and chocolaty – not like a cream pie, but like fudge…in a flaky crust…topped with whipped cream.  Yes, this is for a special occasion – like Valentine’s Day!  I haven’t made this recently, so the only picture is this pathetic one from my much-used copy of the recipe.  But I thought of this treat this week and knew you would love it!  Here is the recipe:

Sweetheart Fudge Pie
1/4 Cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
2 cups semi-sweet real chocolate pieces
2 tsp instant coffee
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
9 inch unbaked pastry shell
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbl chopped maraschino cherries

Cream butter with brown sugar; add eggs, one at a time, beating well.  Melt chocolate over hot, not boiling, water; add to creamed mixture with coffee and vanilla.  Stir in flour and walnuts.  Pour into pie shell.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.  Cool.  Whip cream stiff (I like to add about 1/4 cup powdered sugar).  Fold in cherries.  Spread on top of pie; decorate with chocolate or candy hearts.

Since it’s just the two of us, I’m planning on a new Valentine dessert recipe this year – Chocolate Decadence from Cooking Light.

It makes 4 individual servings – that means dessert for two nights!

Any Valentine’s Day baking plans  for you?

From the parsonage windows,

Years ago I heard this illustration:  When I as a wife, put certain expectations on my husband, I am putting  prison bars around him.  Imagine that I have 50 expectations of what he should be and gestures he ought to perform.  That would mean that there are 50 bars around him, enclosing him in.  He feels trapped and in bondage.  Is that love?  Sounds more like cruel and unusual punishment, yet most of us pull out our list every time a special event comes around.  We read off our list to ourselves (and maybe our fella) and roll our eyes in disgust and comparison.

May I challenge you today, friend?  The challenge is not to have the best Valentine, but to be the best one! Don’t worry about having the best husband, but Being the best wife.  See the difference in the focus?  Instead of taking the magnifying glass to hubby, I use the 10 X mirror when looking at myself! The pressure is off of him.  Now I see my own faults, my irritants, my habits, my selfishness, my sin, and take those things to the Lord in prayer that I might  be that godly Valentine God would have me be for my groom that I love more than I could ever imagine.   I Corinthians 13:4 – Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up

When our focus changes, we really won’t need someone to give us a list of gifts to give our husband – we’ll know what would please him.  Oh, and an interesting thing happens when a wife loves her husband like this – a change takes place! It may or may not be in him, but it sure happens in her.  She will probably be so intent on that expression of her own love that she won’t be wounded by his neglect.

So, the way to be his Valentine all year long is to focus on your own responsibilities as a wife.Perhaps we should picture it like this:

“Bee” the best Valentine this Thursday that any husband ever had!

With love,

P.S. Tomorrow I’m going to share a luscious Valentine Pie recipe that I made for my Valentine before we were married.  I’m sure this is why he proposed!

One of our fabulous young women bakes cupcakes for the event.  Saturday’s choices were White Chocolate Raspberry and Cookies and Cream.  Seriously, this gal needs a bakery.

But the main feature of this lunch menu was an appetizer –  Won-ton Tacos. They were adorable appetizer size tacos wrapped in a Won Ton wrapper.  Yum!  They looked like a fancy hors d’oeurve, but I learned that they were quite simple to make…and they were so good!

My plate

Won-Ton Tacos

 Ingredients

24 wonton wrappers
 1 pound lean ground beef
 1 (1.12 ounce) package  Dry Taco Seasoning Mix
 2 tablespoons  Picante Sauce
 1/2 cup Pace® Chunky Salsa
 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Press wonton wrappers into mini-muffin cups. My friend par-baked her wonton wrappers a little before adding the meat mixture.
Cook beef in skillet until browned. Drain off fat. Stir in taco seasoning mix and picante sauce.
Spoon beef mixture into wonton cups. Top with salsa and cheese.
Bake about 8 minutes or until wontons are golden brown.
Serve immediately with additional salsa. Garnish with sour cream and cilantro, if desired. Makes 24 appetizers.

Do you have a special something you make for showers?

From the parsonage kitchen,

How about couple of apps for your phone to freshen up your relationship with your special someone, and another one for your pictures?  When I add an app to my phone it has to be:

1. Free
2. Functional

                                                                  
I  recently found two apps that I really like and thought you might like hearing about them.

The first one is called Couple.   Go here to watch a two minute video about how it can work. This app keeps you connected to your husband.  You can send private messages.  This is an advantage over sending a text message where you risk sending a message only to find out you just sent that private message accidentally to your husband’s boss!  

You can doodle him a picture or send a video or still picture.  You can send a thumb kiss or hit a button that sends a “Thinking of you” message.  You can even send him a list of items you need at the store.  Your birthday and anniversary dates are listed here, too – just so no one forgets!  A history is stored so you can see all the messages and pictures you’ve shared.  This is a great app.  The parson and I have just been using it a couple of weeks and are still learning all its perks, but it’s been great!

Another app that I recently downloaded and love is Photo grid.                          
This fun app takes your pictures on your phone and turns them into something really special. They can take simple pictures like these…

This is another great app that is fun, free and functional!  Oh, and it will freshen up your Friday!  =)

Have you ever embarrassed yourself by sending a text to the wrong person?  Fess up…I’ll share mine later.

See you in church Sunday!

Be refreshed,