Meals for Date Night

Valentine’s Day.  Do you love it?  Do you hate it?  The opinion in our household is that, no matter what, it’s a great excuse to take a break and spend some time with your loved ones.  Since my family has expanded to include Ben, Nick and I like to have a date night in on Valentine’s Day.  It takes away all of the stress of planning, plus you can eat in your PJs if you’d like.  Win-win! We’ve actually always stayed in on Valentine’s day.

We cook up one of our favorite date night meals and spend some quiet time together.  It is simply glorious.  In case this sounds like the kind of Valentine’s Day you’d like to have, I’m sharing some of mine and Nick’s favorite date night recipes!  

1. 5 Ingredient crock pot pork roast potatoes recipe – for when date night is also a weeknight, this is a great set it and forget it date night meal.  It’s super hearty and since February is always frigid, it’s a great meal for those cold nights.
2. White wine garlic chili shrimp, 15 minute dinner – A super easy date night in is made even a bit fancier with this quick dinner recipe.  It’s best served with a baguette.  Yum!
3. Mushroom and wine sirloin steak sandwiches – this dish is extra special to me because it started as a Valentine’s Day tradition.  Nick loves to cook this dish and I love to let him 🙂
4. Meal delivery for special occasions – If you’ve followed along with me at all, you know I love meal delivery services. I even compared some of my favorites here.  Since meal delivery services often assist me in making tasty dinners, I figured why not for Valentine’s Day!?  The whole meal in the photo is delicious, BUT the star is the amazing blue cheese butter that I am still dreaming about!
5. Balsamic mushrooms with arugula and cheesy polenta – if you’re looking for a recipe for a vegetarian date night, this is the one for you.  The medley of mushrooms used is the perfect compliment to the polenta.
6. 5 Ingredient chocolate cake for two – No dinner is complete without dessert and this recipe for two is ideal for Valentine’s Day.  It is only five ingredients so you probably don’t even need to make a special trip to the store.
7. Spinach salad with soft boiled eggs, bacon and a mustard vinaigrette – Nick and I’s favorite salad that makes us feel even a tad fancy.
8. Blue cheese mac n’ cheese – when you’re looking for a decadent and romantic dish, try this mac n’ cheese.  The best part is that you can enjoy it for many nights to come because the recipe makes quite a lot!

I’d love to know: what do you cook for special occasions or date night?