Heart-Shaped Pizza and The Meal Plan

Happy Valentine's Day!

We always spend the evening of Valentine's Day at home as a family. Usually I make a "fancy" dinner and we set the table with the crystal and china. We decorate the dining room. Sometimes we dress up. We have our own little kid-friendly, formal Valentine's dinner. I love this tradition...the loves of my life gathered around the table, celebrating our love for one another. It makes me happy.

But this particular Valentine's Monday happens to kick-off an extra-ordinarily busy week for our little family. Pure craziness this week, I'm tellin' ya!  And so, the other day, when I asked my 6 year old what she thought we should make for Valentine's dinner and she answered, "Heart Pizzas!" I could've kissed her. In fact, I did. Definitely do-able. Definitely a quick dinner. But still festive...I like the way she thinks!

Here's how I made the heart-shaped pizza:

First, I lightly sprinkled my Pampered Chef pastry mat with cornmeal. Then, I popped open a tube of refrigerated pizza dough and un-rolled it on the mat.

Next, I rolled out the dough to between 1/4 and 1/8 of an inch thickness. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into a heart shape.

Brush a pizza pan with oil and transfer the dough.

Now, top the pizza. Tonight the kiddos voted for plain cheese. Perfect! No chopping involved!

Twist the leftover dough into breadsticks. Brush with garlic butter and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Bake the pizza according to the dough package directions. Put the breadsticks in there too. The breadsticks turned out really nice! I think that these went into the 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. I can't be sure.  I forgot to take notes this time.

The heart-shaped pizza was a hit! Nothing fancy this year, we ate the pizza on paper plates. No one complained...least of all, me (aka The Dishwasher).

I did have to do something a little "fancy" for the occasion. A Valentine's treat for my family.... Check out this decadent Nutella Torte that we ate for dessert!

When things slow down around here, I promise to post the step-by-step and recipe for this spectacular cake! It was loaded with chocolate-hazelnut goodness!

It was a good Valentine's night!
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Now for the belated, abbreviated meal plan. You may notice that I'm on a chicken kick this week. You can cook all of the chicken at once and use it for meals throughout the week!

Monday February 14th

Heart Pizza
Nutella Torte

Tuesday February 15th

Chicken Florentine Lasagna

Wednesday February 16th

Chicken Tortellini Salad

Thursday February 17th

Leftovers

Friday February 18th

Chicken Enchilada Pizza

Saturday February 19th

Dinner Out with Friends

Sunday February 20th

Leftovers again? Takeout? Not sure yet....
(The kiddos will be at their grandparent's overnight!)

Grocery List

Produce

Spinach
Mushrooms
Garlic
Pecans
Red Bell Pepper
Green Bell Pepper
Celery
Red Onion
Onion
Jalapeno Pepper
Grape Tomatoes
Cilantro

Dairy

Sour (light) cream
Grated Parmesan
Shredded Cheddar
10 oz. fresh tortellini
Refrigerated pizza crust
8 oz. Colby Jack cheese, shredded

Meat

6 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Canned Goods

1 can cream of mushroom soup
Cider vinegar
Honey
Dijon mustard
Vegetable oil
Green Taco Sauce

Dry Goods

Lasagna noodles
Parsley
Dry Mustard
Basil


I hope that you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day and have an equally wonderful week!