By: Courtney Arp

Valentine’s Day is coming up and one of the most important things about the holiday is cooking, eating, and spending time with your significant other. If you’re looking to give a gift straight to from the heart this holiday, try cooking your love a delicious and special meal.

The Squire asked Eisenhower FCS teacher, Mrs. Alexander, for some good cooking tips for teens and some ideas for that Valentine meal.

The Squire asked Mrs. Alexander what the best thing to make for Valentine’s Day would be. She answered that it depends on how much time they have, “If you don’t have much time, make something ahead with fewer steps. Also try to find out what your partner likes and if they have preferences like being vegan or vegetarian.” She also shared some good cooking tips, “always use a thermometer when cooking meat because you don’t want the meat to be too overdone or underdone, you want it to be perfect.”

When asked if she recommended a dessert or a meal, she said “it depends on how much time and space you have.” She would recommend a meal over a dessert because it takes longer to eat and you have more time to spend with your partner, “I wouldn’t recommend a dessert as much because it goes by faster, but if you don’t have a lot of time to make a meal, making a dessert would be good too.”

Mrs. Alexander is an expert when knowing what types of recipes are ideal for teens. Her advice is: “anything with pasta would be good to make because they can customize it however they want to, like making chicken alfredo or just making regular spaghetti and meatballs.” Also there’s a benefit of cooking and staying in rather than going out. Mrs. Alexander agrees with this by saying, “You have control of your ingredients and there’s a sense of accomplishment after you finish making the meal.”

There are lots of options when wanting to cook for your Valentine’s Day date. Looking for ideas on Pinterest would also be a great source for recipes and Valentine themed meals.  Have fun making a Valentine’s meal for your significant other!

Picture: https://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/g1115/romantic-valentines-day-dinners/