Valentine Day Recipe Roundup from 101 Cooking for Two

Time to cuddle up with the ones you love. And do it with some great food. You can have a great homemade “better than restaurant quality” Valentine's dinner with a little planning, a little work, and a lot cheaper. No need to fight the crowds.

Table of Contents

Breakfast
Main Course
Veggies and other side dishes
Desserts

Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

Introduction

Don't you just love Valentine's Day? Full of love and goodwill, along with great food. But I hate crowded restaurants. We can do much better at home. Let's review some of my top recipes that are easy to make.

Breakfast

We all need a great start to the day. We always go with the baked sausage and blueberry pancake. So good.

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Learn to bake perfect crispy and delicious bacon in the oven with no splatter mess to clean up. Super easy, just pop it in the oven and do something else for a while—perfect bacon every time.

How To Cook Sausage in the Oven

Learn how to cook sausage in the oven with this easy oven "fried" method. Make great breakfast sausage, but the same method works just as well for larger sausages like brats, Italian, kielbasa, and other sausages.

Baked Blueberry Pancakes

Delicious and fluffy oven-baked blueberry pancakes make a great breakfast. No standing there flipping all morning—just mix and bake. Make them as plain baked pancakes, or add the suggested blueberries or other fruit.

Carrot Cake Baked Pancakes

One of the best breakfast recipes ever, amazing carrot cake baked pancakes with maple cream cheese glaze. It is so time for dessert for breakfast or breakfast for any meal.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

EVIL GOOD. This super easy cinnamon roll cake gives you the great taste of cinnamon rolls with a fraction of the work. I call that a huge win.

Main Course

For us, any very special meal starts with beef, but we are flexible. Although pork and chicken are great, and I love Italian and Mexican, here are my top beef recipes, plus a chicken and pork if you must. I also include a couple of enhancements.

Pan Seared Oven Roasted Strip Steak

Cook your strip steaks like the best steakhouses. A little pan sear on the stovetop, then cook your steak in the oven to your taste. The best results are easy with these simple step by step photo instructions.

How to Grill a Strip Steak on a Gas Grill

Learn to grill your strip steaks to perfection with this easy step-by-step photo tutorial. You are just a few minutes away from being the "grill master." This never-fail method will serve you well for many years.

a strip steak with grill marks on a gray plate

Pan Seared Oven Roasted Filet Mignon

Learn how to cook filet mignon at home and get the best results like the top restaurants. Surprisingly easy with a quick sear on the stovetop, then bake to get your perfect filet. Great reliable results every time that is perfect for two or a crowd.

How to Grill Filet Mignon on a Gas Grill

Learn how to cook filet mignon on a grill. Grill your fillet to perfection with this simple technique in about 10 minutes. You can have the best steaks at your special dinner tonight.

How to Grill a T-bone or Porterhouse Steak – A Tutorial

How to grill a T-bone steak seems to be a problem for a lot of people. You can be the "grill master" too and have an excellent grilled steak in about 10 minutes every time. Learn how with these easy to follow step by step photo instructions.

Picture of a nice porterhouse steak with grill marks on a blue plate with french fries

Pan Seared Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin

A super easy pork tenderloin recipe, this pan-seared oven-roasted pork tenderloin is done in 30-minute. A great budget-friendly healthy dinner for two, you will repeat over and over.

Mayo Parmesan Chicken AKA Melt in Your Mouth Chicken

You can't have enough great chicken recipes, and this quick and easy recipe uses only a few ingredients and goes in the oven in about 10 minutes. Also know as Melt in Your Mouth Chicken (MIYM), it makes a moist and delicious easy dinner.

Enhancements

The Best Steak Marinade

This easy, mouth-watering steak marinade is not only insanely good but adds tenderness to any steak in as little as 30 minutes. Using soy sauce, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and a few other pantry ingredients, you can have the best juicy steak at home in less than an hour.

grilled marinaded strip steak ona white plate

Blue Cheese and Garlic Compound Butter

Make that steak or vegetables pop with this wonderful blue cheese and garlic compound butter. Add layers of butter, garlic, and blue cheese to make the meal extra special.

Blue Cheese Compound Butter on a strip steak

Veggies and other side dishes

Side dishes make or break the meal. Here are some of our favorites. A little of this and a little of that.

Green Beans with Bacon

Step up your boring side dishes with these outstanding roasted green beans with bacon with an exceptional sauce. Ultra easy from fresh or frozen beans, this will be a family staple.

image of Bacon Green Beans on an orange plate

Crispy Parmesan Baked Potatoes

Super easy and super delicious, these Parmesan baked potato halves will be your new favorite side dish. Infused with butter and garlic flavor under a crisp Parmesan crust, you can't go wrong offering this to your friends and family.

Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

Simple one pan stovetop fresh green beans with toasted almonds make a great side dish for family or a special meal. A one-pan recipe that is so easy, it will be your go-to green bean recipe.

green beans with almonds on a white plate

Old Fashion Cheesy Potato Casserole

Old fashion cheesy potato casserole is like grandma would make using raw potatoes and other fresh ingredients. One of our favorite side-dishes and is worth the little extra work for the delicious results.

close up image of cheesy potato casserole on a white plate

Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

This caramelized Parmesan roasted cauliflower recipe will become your favorite way to cook cauliflower. Using fresh or frozen, it makes a great hot baked side dish.

60 Minute Dinner Rolls

Great homemade yeast dinner rolls in 60 minutes. Just fire up the mixer and follow these easy step by step photo instructions.

nicely browned dinner rolls still in a baking pan being brushed

Desserts

Sweet endings are a must for a great meal but especially important on Valentine's Day. I would skip everything for one of these.

Berry Crisp for Two

An irresistible berry crisp for two. Perfect for making ahead of time and slide into the oven just as you start that special meal. Remove from the oven piping hot just in time for wonderful dessert for two.

Easy Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Absolutely awesome "REAL" cheesecake. Not one of those "no-cook" pie pan things. And it is easy... so easy with only six ingredients. This will be your new "take to the party" signature dessert.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

A high-end restaurant dessert, this super easy flourless chocolate cake makes the perfect dessert for a special meal or someone special. Even the beginner can bake this wonderful cake. Make this your special signature dessert.

Easy Apple Berry Crumble

Old-fashion apple crumble is great dessert comfort food but add some berries with a crispy crumble top and you will have your new signature dessert—quick and easy.