Ever since I was a little girl, baking and cooking have always been some of my favorite pastimes — not to mention one of my skills. Food is a love language, and it brings people together, so here are three foolproof recipes to keep that special someone wanting more.
Chocolate chip cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberry filling
This recipe was originally adapted from my aunt’s poundcake recipe, made into a two-layer cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream in the middle. It’s from a book called “The Cake Doctor,” where box cake mixes are used with other ingredients to spice up an otherwise boring cake.
Obviously, you need cake mix — one package (18.25 oz) of yellow cake mix to be specific. The Cake Doctor usually adds pudding mix, so you will also need one package (3.4 oz) of vanilla instant pudding mix. To make the cake fluffier, the recipe also calls for 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
The chocolate is the most important part, using both baking chocolate and chocolate chips. For the baking chocolate, I used a 4-ounce, semi-sweet baking chocolate bar, and the recipe calls for it to be grated. This is incredibly time-consuming, so you can use a food processor or a blender instead. Ideally, the chocolate chips will also be semi-sweet; only one-half cup is needed.
The wet ingredients are one half cup of vegetable oil, one half cup of sour cream, 1 cup of whole milk and three large eggs, plus one egg white, separated from the yolk, which I recommend using your hands to do.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the wet and dry ingredients and whisk until combined, with no visible lumps. Fold in the grated chocolate and mix, scraping down the sides periodically to ensure it's well-combined. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips, again looking for even distribution of that delicious chocolate.
Prepare your two round eight-inch pans with cooking spray or parchment paper. Pour the batter into the two pans, and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 32 minutes. When they’re done, a toothpick inserted should come out clean.
Leave the cakes to cool as you prepare the filling. Dice one cup of strawberries and set aside to dry. Add one-half cup of whipping cream to a bowl and use a stand mixer or hand mixer to whip it into hard peaks. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar; The filling doesn’t need to be too sweet, the cake already is.
Spread the whipped cream on top of one of the cooled cakes, then sprinkle the strawberries on top. Seal the strawberries in with another thin layer of whipped cream, then add the second cake on top.
Decoratively, you can add more whipped cream and halved strawberries to the top, but this is definitely extra. Finally, enjoy with your Valentine as you spend the holiday together. If this doesn’t make them fall in love, I don’t know what will.
Crockpot creamy chicken pasta
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This recipe is the easiest, simplest and most favorite meal in my house, according to my roommates. To prepare, you simply dice half a white onion and mince two cloves of garlic to add to the crockpot.
In addition, add 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 cups of chicken broth, one-half cup of heavy cream, one can (10.5 oz) of cream of mushroom soup, three raw chicken breasts, salt, pepper and whatever other spices you enjoy.
Turn the crockpot on low for four to six hours, or on high for three to four hours, and wait as your house is filled with the delicious aroma. Twenty minutes before serving, add three to four cups of egg noodles and remove the chicken to shred before adding it back and serving.
The recipe is simple, easy and delicious, allowing more time for you to spend with that Valentine while still impressing them with a phenomenal dinner.
Thai coconut curry chicken meatballs
This one requires a ton of prep work, but it pays off with a delicious dish that makes you feel all the more accomplished. Shred about one small zucchini, making about one-half cup. Chop up two green onions, two shallots and one red bell pepper, and grate 2 tablespoons of ginger and two cloves of garlic.
To a large bowl, add one pound of ground chicken, the shredded zucchini, the green onions, one of the diced shallots, 2 teaspoons of shredded ginger and one clove of minced garlic. Add in a fourth teaspoon of cayenne pepper, black pepper to taste and 2 teaspoons of soy sauce to the mixture before combining and shaping into meatballs.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add some oil to the bottom of the pan and begin cooking the meatballs, a few at a time. Sear for four to five minutes until they are crispy, turning two to three times, and remove them from the pan onto a plate.
After all the meatballs have been partially cooked, add the remaining ingredients: one diced shallot, one minced garlic clove, 1 tablespoon of grated ginger, the sliced bell pepper, 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of red Thai curry paste.
Cook for two minutes, then stir in one can of unsweetened coconut milk and 3 tablespoons of soy sauce. Add back in the meatballs and let simmer for five minutes on medium heat, until the meatballs are cooked through to 165 degrees.
Serve over rice and enjoy this bright-red, festively-colored dish.
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