Valentine inspiration…fun and delicious.

I’ve started my antibiotics and I’m hoping to feel them kick in soon, but for now, I wanted to leave you with some lovely inspiration…

One of my favorite ladies is Dana over at Made. She’s a total rockstar (in my humble opinion) and she’s one of those people I daydream about, wishing she lived closer to me so I could glean some awesomeness from her on a daily basis. I guess I have to settle for gleaning over the internet.

Last year we made these little lovely valentines and this year with all that is going on I decided to do a repeat. I’m giving myself a ‘get off easy’ card, but I’ll dream up something wonderful for next year!

I set the broken boy at the table with a big bowl full of M&M’s and some colored bowls and he got busy…

then he cut out all his own hearts and I helped him put them together, fill them, and close them up. Now we’re all ready for the big day!

He was kind enough to leave a couple for Mom…so I got my Valentine ready too…we all know who’s going to enjoy himself some blue M&M’s from me! We had a lot of fun working on these…thanks Dana! You ‘MADE’ our day! Sorry, I couldn’t help myself…

Now for the best part…I have the PERFECT thing for you to cook up on Valentine’s to show how much you love your ‘loves’…homemade ravioli! Now, I’m sure your saying “yeah, right!” but let me tell you, I’ve already tried it out for you and it’s VERY doable AND under 30 minute meal! (but you don’t have to tell anyone that!)

Pumpkin Ravioli
Jessica Seinfeld
(with a Valentine twist by Heather Wilson)
1 (15 oz.) can low sodium white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c canned 100% pure pumpkin puree
1/2 c part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 c grated Parmesan
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 large egg
72 wonton wrappers, about 1 1/2 (12-oz.) packages
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups jarred marinara sauce, microwaved until warm

1. Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil. Place the beans, pumpkin puree, ricotta, Parmesan, and garlic powder into a food processor. Process until smooth.
2. In a small bowl, beat the egg with about 1 Tbsp of water
3. Set the wonton wrappers on a cutting board. Place 1 Tbsp. of the mixture onto a wrapper. Brush the edges of the wonton with the egg wash. Top off with another wonton sheet. Press the edges of the ravioli together firmly, to seal.
4. Place the ravioli on a baking hseet sprinkled with the cornstarch. When all the ravioli are cut out, carefully place them in the boiling water using a slotted spoon. As soon as they rise, aobout 4 minutes, they are done. Lift them out with the slotted spoon and divide the ravioli among 6 bowls. Top each portion with 1/4 cup marinara sauce and serve immediately.

If you want your valentine twist you need to buy the square wonton wrappers. My grocery store was all out of the round wonton wrappers, but those are definitely my favorite! (on other occasions)

So I grabbed my heart cookie cutter and I went to town…

then I filled up my little pretties to make bundles of love.

I’ve tried out the circles too…

AND to make my life easier, I’ve got this little beauty in my pantry. It’s my new favorite. Check your labels next time your at the store…they cram in some crazy amounts of salt in these puppies so this is my new ‘go to’.

Enjoy serving up some valentine goodness to your lovelies…AND you will love yourself some of this too!

My giveaway is running all week until Friday 18th so make sure you check it out!