Treats for my Valentine's!

Happy Valentine's Day! I have been celebrating Valentine's Day for the last month. I LOVE love! Yep.  I love all the cheesy, sappiness of it all. But the best thing about my Valentine's Day?

1. I get to spend the day with this MOST special Valentines ever:

2. My Mr. has to leave for work super early but when I woke up and went into the bathroom he had left the sweetest note for me on the mirror. Can't wait until he gets home tonight!

3. Treats. I love me some V-Day treats. For our Girls night we made these delicious cake pops. Oh man were they yummy.

But something special for my Valentine? Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream. I know it is still cold outside but seriously me & my Mr. love ice cream. Definitely my most favorite treat. I tried to make it a little bit "lighter" but it is still just as delicious. It tastes fresh and creamy!

And a flashback of Valentine's past: We like to make each other special dinners for Valentine's day. We have made this dessert twice! Molten Lava Cakes- Thank you Paula Deen! Seriously, so easy and amazing. The recipe calls for a hint of orange......mmmmmmmmmmmm.

How are you celebrating Valentine's Day? I really feel that every day you should let those you love and care for know how special they are, not just once a year. But that is the fun thing about Valentine's day... you get to go a little over board. And who doesn't love celebrating?

Happy Valentine's Day,

Whitney

My favorite Love quote:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends

Recipes:

Fresh Strawberry Ice-Cream Recipe

3 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 C sugar, divided
1 C whole milk
1 C lowfat milk
2 C heavy cream
3/4 C half & half
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a small bowl combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/2 C of sugar. Stir gently. Place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours to allow the strawberries to make juices. Then, strain the berries reserving the juice. In a food processor, puree the strawberries and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on medium speed and combine milk with the remaining sugar. Mix until sugar is dissolved,  about 2 minutes.  Stir in the cream, half & half, vanilla, strawberries & strawberry juice. Pour mixture into your ice cream machine for the amount of time suggested per the manufacturer. (Mine takes about 25 minutes)

Place in a freezer safe bowl and freeze to harden just slightly... or eat right away if you like your ice cream really soft!

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Molten Lava Cakes
Recipe from Food Network - Paula Deen

Ingredients
6 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange liqueur - We used 1 teaspoon of orange extract instead and it was a perfect amount
Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Grease 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave, or in a double boiler. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and orange liqueur. Divide the batter evenly among the custard cups. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. The edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.