Valentine's Day Dinner: That Was Easy

Valentine's Day was last Thursday, and guys everywhere were racking their brains trying to think of the perfect gift to make up for all of their mistakes during the past year. Some people think that the more money spent, the better the gift. Well folks, that's simply not true. One thing that people love is having a special dinner cooked for them. Now I'm not going to say that all home cooked meals are inexpensive, but as long as you're not making lobster or veal, you won't be spending much.

Now first, all you have to do is think about whatever foods your mate has mentioned in the past. What are some favorite foods from home that they haven't had in a while? My girlfriend had mentioned a few times that she loves the Cornish game hen her dad makes. It was February 13th, and while I'd never had a Cornish game hen, I decided that I'd better commit to something.

So now that I had a dish in mind, I looked for recipes via Google. I came across many, but this is the recipe I used: Cornish game hen recipe.

Then, I had to find a side dish. I looked in the weekly Hy-Vee ad and found that twice baked potatoes, a favorite of my girlfriend's, were on sale, 3 for $5.

I went to Hy-Vee around noon on Valentine's Day. I was a little nervous because I'd never eaten a Cornish game, let alone prepared one for a nice dinner. The recipe called for me to make stuffing as well as the glaze for the hens. Luckily, the store had two already stuffed game hens left for $4 a piece. The I picked up the ingredients for the honey glaze as well as the potatoes, which were huge.

When I realized that everything but the glaze was already prepared for me, my anxiety subsided. All I had to do was put everything in the oven for about 2 hours while I applied the glaze every 10-15 minutes.

The whole meal cost about $15. The flowers and wine were another $17, but those were just icing on the cake. Anyway, she loved it and it was really easy and inexpensive.

Whether you're doing it for that special someone, or making a nice meal for yourself, try going to the local grocery store and picking up some pre-made items in the meat or deli sections. You'll probably find a hearty easy-to-make meal for a great price.