Instead of going out on a Valentine's date, Mike and I decided to have a quasi-romantic dinner at home. The trick was to keep the kids occupied. So, we got a movie for the kids, put them downstairs with popcorn, candy, and water (in cups, not a bowl), and we didn't hear from them for 30 minutes. Well, we did keep Phil with us in the kitchen as a chaperone. Like a lifeguard, he kept watch over us from his highchair perch.
For dinner, we had Chicken in Tarragon Cream Sauce and White and Wild Rice with Walnuts. This is a Rachael Ray recipe—it was chosen because her recipes are easy and quick. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this recipe an 8. It might have received a higher score if we could have eaten it piping hot, but the kids just had to have dinner first, so our precious meal cooled while the kids ate their beloved and bland TV dinners. If you do choose to make this recipe, I suggest you accompany the dish with a chilled bottle of aged root beer or cream soda. We chose A&W cream soda in diet flavor. The subtle hint of aspartame really complimented the anise-like flavor of the tarragon. For dessert, we heated up frozen chocolate lava cake and tried to pretty it up with caramel sauce and magic shell topping. The magic shell was too runny and ruined the overall look of the dessert, but it tasted magnifique.
Our Valentine's Chaperone and Our Dinner
***Note: I removed the stems from the chocolate dipped strawberries because I didn't want the greenery getting in the way of my mouthful of yumminess. But as I gaze at the photo, I see that my decision drastically reduced the beauty of chocolate covered strawberries. I'm not for butchering beauty. I'll make sure to leave on the stems next time.***
At the end of the evening, the kids crashed from their Valentine's sugar high. James had brought home tons of candy from school, and he'd shared it all with his sister. He's very generous. Phil probably received secondhand sugar from James's and Ali's breath (or he was exhausted from being sick; it's hard to tell).
Little Lauber-Doodles Fast Asleep from a Hard Day Valentining
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