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Romantic Dinner Ideas for a Cozy Valentine's Day at Home

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate the day of love than with a romantic dinner at home? Skip the crowded restaurants and create a cozy, intimate atmosphere right in your own space. Whether you're a culinary enthusiast or a novice in the kitchen, these dinner ideas will help you impress your special someone with a delightful homemade meal.

Classic Candlelit Dinner:

Start the evening with a classic candlelit dinner featuring timeless dishes that never fail to impress. Begin with a simple yet elegant Caesar salad – crisp romaine lettuce, garlic croutons, and a creamy dressing. For the main course, try a perfectly cooked ribeye steak or salmon paired with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. Finish the night on a sweet note with a classic chocolate fondue, complete with strawberries, marshmallows, and cubes of pound cake for dipping.

Mediterranean Flavors:

Transport your taste buds to the shores of the Mediterranean with a menu inspired by the vibrant and flavorful cuisine of the region. Begin with a mezze platter featuring hummus, tzatziki, olives, and stuffed grape leaves. For the main course, prepare a mouthwatering Mediterranean baked cod with tomatoes, olives, and capers. Serve it over a bed of couscous or orzo. Complete the meal with a refreshing lemon sorbet or baklava for a touch of sweetness. 

DIY Pizza Night:

Embrace a more casual and interactive dinner experience with a DIY pizza night. Set up a pizza-making station with various toppings, sauces, and cheeses. Allow each person to customize their pizza before baking them to perfection. Pair the pizzas with a side salad or some garlic knots. The interactive nature of this meal encourages conversation and collaboration, making it a fun and memorable Valentine's Day dinner.

Vegetarian Delight:

For those who prefer a plant-based option, consider a delightful vegetarian dinner. Start with a roasted vegetable and quinoa salad tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. Follow it up with a creamy mushroom risotto that boasts rich flavors and a velvety texture. Roasted Brussels sprouts or grilled asparagus make excellent side dishes. Conclude the evening with a vegan chocolate avocado mousse for a guilt-free, decadent dessert.

Spicy Romance – Thai-Inspired Dinner:

Spice things up with a Thai-inspired dinner that brings bold flavors to the table. Begin with Tom Yum soup, a hot and sour broth infused with lemongrass, galangal, and chili. For the main course, serve a red curry chicken or tofu with jasmine rice. The aromatic blend of coconut milk, curry paste, and Thai herbs creates a symphony of flavors. End the evening with mango sticky rice for a sweet and tropical finale. 

This Valentine's Day, treat your loved one to a special and intimate dinner at home with these delightful ideas. Whether you opt for a classic candlelit setting, a Mediterranean feast, a DIY pizza night, a vegetarian delight, or a spicy Thai-inspired menu, the key is to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Remember to add personal touches, such as a carefully selected playlist, beautiful table settings, and, most importantly, your undivided attention. Celebrate love with a homemade meal that reflects your thoughtfulness and effort in making the day memorable for both of you.

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8 Romantic At-Home Date Night Ideas

Scheduling a regular date night with your significant other is a great way to mix up your routine and deepen your connection. It can also supercharge the romance and intimacy of your relationship.

It's not always possible to go out every week, especially if you have kids or work long hours. But you don't always have to leave your house to enjoy a special date. With a little creativity, an at-home date night can be a romantic and fun way to spend time together. 

Here are a few ideas for your next perfect date night, right from the comfort of your own home. 

1. Spa Night

Why pay for an expensive spa package for couples when you can create your own romantic spa night at home for a fraction of the cost? Set the scene with scented candles, dimmed lights, and soft music.

Start with a sensual bubble bath, get out the face masks and top it off by taking turns giving each other a full body massage.

What to wear? You might be more comfortable in sweats or a terry cloth robe, but if you want to spice things up try fancy lingerie or add a fun twist with matching underwear for couples

2. Wine Tasting 

Create your own custom tasting night with different wines, beers, or your beverage of choice. Buy a few varieties that are new to both of you and arrange them into sample sizes that you can sip and discover together.

Don't forget snacks! If you want to go all out, add an assortment of gourmet cheese, charcuterie, and chocolate.

3. Music Listening Party

Enjoy a living room concert by curating a mix of your favorite albums or playlists, or watch a live-streamed concert of one of your favorite artists. Sip on cocktails or a glass of wine while you immerse yourselves in your favorite tunes from the cozy comfort of your couch.

One of the perks of an at-home concert is that you don't have to get all dressed up, drive in busy traffic, or find a parking spot. Just sit back and relax! 

4. Backyard Picnic

Turn your backyard into a romantic picnic setting by laying out a blanket, setting up a lantern, and adding a bouquet of fresh flowers to set the scene.

Turn on some soft tunes from your phone or portable speaker, and you'll be ready to enjoy a perfect picnic "getaway" together. 

5. Games for Two

Whether you're into cards, board games, or video games, a little friendly competition can be a great aphrodisiac! Pop open a bottle of wine and let the games begin.

If you want to make things even more interesting, make it a rule that the loser of each game or round must remove a piece of clothing.

6. Candlelight Take-Out Dinner

Take-out dinner might be something you do on hectic, busy days, but why not transform it with a little planning and change in atmosphere. Add candles, a nice tablecloth, and turn on some romantic dinner music.

Be sure to turn off the tv and put your phones on "do not disturb." You might be surprised by how refreshing it can be when you take the time to be together with no distractions. 

8. Cooking 

If you plan things ahead and make sure you have enough time blocked off, cooking a meal together can be a fun and relaxing way to spend time together. Make sure you have all ingredients ahead of time and account for the time it takes to prep, like chopping veggies.

The best part? There's something magical about the moment you get to sit down and enjoy a meal you created together from scratch.

No matter what you choose to do, the most important thing is that you both set aside the time to connect without distractions. Put away the phones and simply make space to enjoy each other's company.

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How to Create Your Own Dixie Deadzone Diners

Dixie, the leader in disposable tableware, has launched ”Deadzone Diners,” a campaign inspiring people to disconnect from their mobile devices and connect over a meal.  The initiative will transform the negative perception of cellular dead zones into unique opportunities for people to “Be More Here.”  To help families better connect over the dinner table, the company had a created a set of tips to help them create their own “Deadzone Diners” and foster conversation and interaction.



With a focus on family, friends and mealtimes, Dixie is committed to promoting environments where meaningful interaction can occur in the absence of distractions such as phone calls, social media and text messages. 


​1. ​Put your phone away during mealtime.  Establish a guideline that everyone must put their phones on airplane mode and leave them in another room. This will allow families to focus solely on having meaningful face-to-face conversation with the people around them.

​2. Have dinner in unique location with no cell signal.  Make dinner more fun, compelling and unique by finding a change of atmosphere.  See if you can find a cellular dead zone to have a meal, such as your basement, a park or an isolated spot in the backyard. A change of scenery with “no bars” will encourage engaging conversation.

3. Come to the dinner table with one topic to discuss.  Everyone in the family should come prepared with a conversation topic.  It can be as simple as the best thing that happened to you that day.  A shared meal is an important opportunity to have your family's full attention to talk about the things that matter most. 

4. Make sure everyone is involved.  Make sure everyone at dinner has a role, whether it’s helping in the kitchen, setting the table or cleaning up.  If everyone has a responsibility, it will limit the time they can spend on the phone and create a shared experience. 

5. Try a new recipe, but keep it simple.  Introducing a new recipe could be the start of great conversation.  A home-made meal doesn’t have to take hours and it can be fun to prepare.  Cooking will bring the family together, while avoiding the distraction of cell phones.


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Celebrate the return of football season at Buffalo Wild Wings with the whole family!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Buffalo Wild Wings for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
One of America's favorite times of year is here--- the return of football season! Buffalo Wild Wings is the go to place for family, fun and football. After all, wings are the staple food when watching football. We love the flavor varieties that BDubs offers. Even if you can't make it into the restaurant, you can order take-out and enjoy your meal in the comfort of your own home. If you are like me, you can get rather messy and a bit unladylike with chicken wings! We have ordered out several times since BDubs opened in our area. On occasion me and my husband will go up there for a meal and a few beers. There are so many promotions going on at BDubs right now like the Game Changer BeerWing TuesdayBottomless Boneless Lunch, and Boneless Thursday.  I think I need to call up a friend to meet up this month for that Bottomless Boneless Lunch special! I think I can be a lady when eating the boneless wing variety. My mind is also on the Game Changer Beer. Just the name makes me want to go try it out! My family is looking forward to football season and can't wait to dive into some of the great offerings this month from Buffalo Wild Wings. It is also a great way for me to take a break from the kitchen. Does your family enjoy football and wings?
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Easy mid-week meal | Sausage Gumbo Recipe

As a busy mom, I do what I can to take the occasional shortcut at mealtime to help give myself a break. I cook dinner 5-6 times a week and sometimes I want to go with something quick. One of my go-to meals is a simple Sausage Gumbo. I have made traditional gumbo before and it took 2 hours! With this recipe, you don't need a lot of ingredients and the entire meal takes under 30 minutes to cook from start to finish.
All you need is:
1 package sausage of your choice
1& 1/2 cans of stewed tomatoes
1/2 bag of frozen sweet corn
1 bag of frozen cut okra
1/2 bag of frozen onion and pepper blend or you can use fresh if you want (frozen cuts out chopping time)
Ketchup
Sugar (optional)
Sriracha (optional)
Dried seasonings of your choice. I use my usual ones.
Rice of your choice (I use Jasmine)

I start off by putting my rice on to cook. Usually by the time it is done, the rest of the meal will be close to being finished. Next, I slice the sausage in circles and toss them in a heated pan with just a touch of oil. Brown the sausage to your liking and add in stewed tomatoes, okra, corn, onion and pepper mix and about 1/4 cup of ketchup. I add some dried seasonings at this point but avoid too much salt. I add a pinch or two of sugar and a few squirts of sriracha to balance it out. Now add some water. The amount will depend on how soupy you want your sauce. Usually around 3/4 cup works. Now you just simmer on medium heat until the okra gets tender. Taste for any additional seasonings and you are done! You can even add shrimp or chicken if you want to.

I like to bake some corn muffins sometimes and eat the gumbo as a soup without the rice. It's light yet filling and the family loves it.
Shelly, Mom Files
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Can you make a full meal in just 20 minutes? YES, you can!

Do you ever feel like you want to give your family a good home-cooked meal but time is not your friend? Although I cook at least 6 times a week, there are days I am scrambling around trying to figure out what I can cook in a short amount of time. I then remember my go-to, quick fix meal... stewed salmon, green beans and rice. In the time it takes your rice to cook you can have the entire meal cooked and ready to serve.
All you need to make this meal is a can of salmon, a can of stewed tomatoes (or you can use fresh), some sliced onion, garlic and herbs of your choice, a few squeezes of fresh lemon or lime juice, frozen or fresh green beans and any rice you like. All I do is put my rice on to cook first. I then slice up my onion, garlic and herbs and throw them in my pan with a little bit of oil. I then put my can of tomatoes in and a few squeezes of ketchup, lemon juice and some dry seasonings.  While that is cooking a bit, I put my green beans on. In goes my salmon into the tomatoes and I simmer it for a bit and add extra seasonings if needed. By the time the timer for the rice goes off, the entire meal is done. This meal costs me about $8 and my family loves it.

Do you have a favorite go-to meal that is quick and easy?
Shelly, Mom Files
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The latest from my kitchen

Lately I have been battling the dinner cooking blues. As usual, I feel like I have run out of ideas. I have been following a couple bloggers that have been meal-planning in advance and I decided to give it a try. For me, I can only do one week at a time (maybe even 4 days). I am a 2-3 times a week grocery shopper because I like everything to be as fresh as possible. I won't say that I have been overly successful in the meal-planning department. I feel like I can't stay on track because my taste or mood might change according to my schedule. One great thing is I have been cooking a lot of meatless meals. I am a HUGE veggie lover. I don't think there are too many vegetables I don't love.  In recent weeks I decided to cook meals without meat and without alerting the family ahead of time. To my surprise they all (even the hubby) love NOT eating any meat. Whaaaattt???!!!! We have all decided that we will have 3-4 meatless meals each week. Today I threw together a fabulous veggie stir-fry served with Jasmine rice and kimchi.
It was so delicious and even the kids agreed that adding any meat, chicken or even shellfish would have spoiled it. I love Asian cuisine so I am really happy that the family loved it as much as they did. 

Last weekend I made a Caribbean style fish dish (Escovitch) that got rave reviews from the family. This dish starts off with seasoned and fried fish that is then topped with a vinegar and citrus based sauce that also contains onions, fresh tomatoes, scallions and hot pepper. This dish can be served with boiled plantains & cassava or just plain rice or grits. 
I am just so happy that my family is all on board with having more meatless meals. I think it will make menu planning a little bit easier and maybe I will actually stick to it! 

What are your favorite meatless meals? Do you meal plan? 
Shelly, Mom Files
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Honey Soy Plum Chicken

I recently purchased a Kindle version of The Pioneer Woman's cookbook. I have tried a couple of her dessert recipes before and loved them. I found a recipe for Honey Soy Plum Chicken and it sounded amazing. I admit that when I read the quantity of some of the ingredients I was a bit stunned. I did choose to modify some things and wanted to share my version as well as the original, of The Pioneer Woman's recipe.

Ingredients:

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
3 cups red wine
3 bay leaves
1 13 oz. jar plum preserves (I used a apricot instead)
1 cup honey (I used 3/4 cup)
1 20 oz. bottle low sodium soy sauce (I used 10 oz and still think it was too much)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 plums, pitted and chopped, plus 1 plum, pitted and thinly sliced (Will use half the plums next time)
12 ounces egg noodles
3 green onions, sliced

Instructions:

~Put the chicken thighs in a large bowl. Pour in 2 cups of the red wine. Add the bay leaves, toss to coat, and marinate for 1 hour in the fridge. (Next time I plan to add some slices of fresh ginger for more Asian flair)
~In a separate bowl, add the plum preserves, honey and soy sauce, whisk to combine and set aside.
~Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the wine, then brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. (I recommend draining excess oil from pan after browning) 
~Reduce the heat to medium-low, then add the garlic. Stir it around in the bottom of the pan for a couple of minutes to release the flavor.
~Add the remaining cup of wine (I will use a half cup next time), chopped plums and honey plum soy mixture. (I added a few shakes of red pepper flakes for some heat)
~Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the chicken is falling off the bone. (I skimmed some of the excess fat off the top)
~Serve chicken and sauce over cooked noodles and sprinkle with green onions. (I plan to try it with Jasmine rice next time)

The dish was delicious and I do plan to make it again with the modifications that I noted. My husband also recommended that this meal should be cooked when nobody is home. He said he and the kids were circling around the kitchen like vultures because of the tantalizing aroma! It took a long time to get it all done. I will say that this was a very impressive, rich and fancy dish. If you like sweet and salty with an Asian twist, this is for you! Let me know if you try it out.
Shelly, Mom Files
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