XO VALENTINE'S DINNER XO

We prefer on holidays like this to stay in and make a nice, romantic, yet family friendly dinner. Last year we were living in a hotel waiting to move into our housing unit and living off of take-out and boxed dinners. However, my husband tried to make it special by making a lovely dinner of Hamburger Helper and surprising me with votive candles to light our small "dinner table". It was such a nice and romantic gesture and actually completely caught me off guard. It is definitely the small things in life that we appreciate.
Unlike last year, this year I am going to be making a day out of it. For breakfast I will be making delicious red velvet pancakes for my daughter. I am using a pre-made mix from World Market (thanks to my wonderful mom for sending it). And because my husband is not a fan of pancakes, I will be making him a nice veggie omelet and bacon...one of his favorite breakfasts. I am really excited about dinner though. I will be making a surf and turf themed dinner for our family. Bacon wrapped filets, spicey (and healthier) crab stuffed mushrooms, and roasted asparagus. For dessert my husband had asked for a chocolate cake so I thought a chocolate zucchini cake with a dark chocolate fudge frosting would be perfect! MMMMM!! Do you wish you were having dinner at our house? I wouldn't blame you :) Lucky for you, I will be including my recipe for these DELICIOUS mushrooms and this healthier chocolate cake so that you too can make them and enjoy them too! Hope you all have had a wonderful day, whether you are with your loved ones, thinking of loved ones, or enjoying the single life! Happy Valentine's Day!

Lighter Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
(This recipe makes only about 8-, maybe even more, mushrooms because my daughter would not try these)

The stems of the mushrooms, finely chopped
1/4 green bell pepper, finely chopped
about 2 Tbl finely chopped onion
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
olive oil
1/4 cup or so of crab, lump or claw, chopped
1/2 tsp creole seasoning
pepper to taste
2 Tbl of pepper jack cheese
1-2 Tbl mayo, depending on the consistency you want
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the stems from your mushrooms. In a saute pan, cook the bell pepper, onion, garlic, and stems until tender. In a bowl, mix together the crab, creole seasoning, pepper jack cheese, and mayo. When the other ingredients are tender, add them to the bowl and mix all ingredients together. (At this point I would try the mixture to see if it needs anything.) Place a heaping spoonful of the mixture into the mushroom caps. Top with a little sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Cook for about 15-20 minutes until the mushrooms are hot and tender.

*After I made this recipe I thought a little lemon zest might be great in this for next time too!



Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup natural and no sugar added apple sauce
about 3 cups grated zucchini (i used 2 medium sized ones)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients together until combined and smooth. Add the eggs and apple sauce and mix thoroughly. Fold in the zucchini. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.


*For a topping add powdered sugar or your favorite chocolate frosting!