5 Dinner Meals You Can Cook for Your Sweetheart on Sweetest Day

So you've decided to cook for your sweetheart this Sweetest Day? If you're already a chef, then this article may not apply to you. For the everyday person who somewhat knows how to work their way around a kitchen I want to give you some meals that you both can share that won't take a long time to make and will be fun to create.

Meal #1 - Chicken Gyros

The chicken needs to be cooked with Greek herbs and spices, or you can do a lemon chicken for this meal. I'd also recommend chicken thighs as opposed to any other piece. You'll need lemon, olive oil, dill, parsley, salt, and pepper for the lemon chicken. No specific proportions, but keep the dill to a minimum as it's vary potent. Let the chicken thighs cook in a skillet until no longer pink in the center. Once fully cooked slice chicken into long strips.

For the rest of the meal you'll need pita bread, tzatziki sauce (homemade or pre-packaged), white onion slices, tomato slices, and lettuce (actually, lettuce is optional). What you'll do is cut the pita bread in half, fill the pockets with chicken, and all the other ingredients; as much as to your liking.

Meal #2 - Shrimp Fried Rice

It would be best if you had a wok for this one, but if you don't have a wok a skillet will work just as well. I'd recommend cooking everything separately. Cook the rice and shrimp according to package instructions. Outside of these two you'll need green onions, an egg, bean sprouts, and soy sauce. Julienne the green onions; crosswise if you want them to look pretty.

Place about a tablespoon or two of oil in the wok or skillet; let it get hot, but not smoking. Place the green onions and bean sprouts in the oil until softened just a bit. Crack the egg and let cook for a couple of minutes; be sure to chop up the egg as it cooks. Add shrimp then rice and mix all ingredients together. Stir regularly so that nothing sticks to the wok or skillet. Add about two or three tablespoons of soy sauce to the wok or skillet mixture. You can always add more later.

Meal #3 - Chicken Fettucine Alfredo with Garlic Bread

I have an article about making garlic bread that you can find by clicking here.

Chicken fettucine alfredo is a three-step process. The fettucine can be made by following the directions on the package. The chicken can be cooked in a skillet using basic salt and pepper; I recommend thighs as they have more flavor (in my opinion). The alfredo you can either buy in a jar, or if you're ambitious you can make your own with flour (or corn starch) and butter.

I realize this is more of a starchy meal, so if you're concerned about the fat content and carbohydrates you can replace the alfredo sauce with a pesto sauce or even a classic tomato sauce.

Meal #4 - Gourmet Steak Burritos with Rice and Beans

For the rice and beans you'll need rice, tomato sauce, red or green bell peppers, cumin, and black beans (canned whole black beans are fine for your purposes). Cook the rice according to package directions. In a separate skillet add a tablespoon of oil and sauté the bell pepper. Add to the rice along with tomato sauce, black beans and spices. Cook until done.

For the steak burritos you'll need soft-shell burrito shells, lettuce, tomato, cheese (preferably a Mexican cheese like Chihuahua or Cotija cheese), salsa or pico de gallo, and of course - steak. I have an article that has a recipe for pico de gallo that you can read by clicking here if you're interested. Cook the steak according to your preference. If in doubt, cook with grilled onions and mushrooms to desired redness; I prefer medium redness.

Mix all ingredients together and put a few scoops of the mixture inside of the burrito shell, wrap up, and eat. You can enhance this to make fajitas by adding julienned bell peppers and onions sautéed along with the steak.

Meal #5 - Cheeseburger and Fries

Does this sound too childish? Not romantic enough? That's partially the idea. This is one of those "cute" meals you can make for your sweetheart that will have them tickled pink... especially if they like cheeseburgers and fries. I've written an article about how to make homemade French fries that you can read by clicking here.

If you want to make the hamburgers from scratch then I recommend getting either ground beef from sirloin (which is 90% lean instead of regular ground beef which is only 73% lean) or you can do ground bison which has a really good texture. If you're not into beef you can do turkey burgers as well. Pack your burger with cheese and seasonings to make it extra tasty. I'd recommend doing a spread similar to how Fuddrucker's has theirs. If you're not familiar with Fuddruckers what they'll do is cook the hamburger for you, and then you put your own condiments on it. They have a condiment bar (at least that's what I'm calling it) that you can put as much, or as little, of any condiment you like. They have salsa, pickles, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, banana peppers and more. They also have mayo, mustard, Heinz 57, A1 sauce, honey mustard... the world is endless as far as toppings for your hamburger. If you're willing to do so, you could have toppings just like this, especially if you know what your sweetheart likes to eat.