Every Valentines Day since Prince Charming and I began dating, I have made a “fancy” dinner (with side dishes, mind you) affectionately coined as “Cupid’s Cafe” by my little sister (who made the first “Cupid’s Cafe” sign when she was 12 and now SHE is getting married in May…time flies!).
This year our Cupid’s Cafe had to be put on hold because I came down with yet another round of the stomach flu late Sunday night. Yes, this is the THIRD time since Christmas and NO I am NOT pregnant (I’ve already been asked that by several people).
So today is the day for Cupid’s Cafe. And now it’s a family affair. On the menu is marinated steak and mushrooms, loaded mashed potatoes, mandarin spinach salad, and these Cherry Tarts (which are as much of a tradition as the dinner itself).
These are SUPER easy and only have 2 ingredients: refrigerated pie crust and canned cherry pie filling. They’re not the healthiest little desserts but they are simple, quick, and most of all—DELICIOUS!
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| 1. Let your refrigerated pie crust come to room temperature (about 15 minutes on the counter). Gently roll out. |
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| 2. Use a circular cookie cutter to cut out circles from the pie crust. |
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| 3. Place and arrange in a mini muffin pan. |
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| 4. Let your little helper put dollops of cherry pie filling in each muffin tin. |
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| 5. In the meantime, use a knife to cut out tiny hearts from the remaining pie crust. |
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| 6. Place hearts on top of the pie filling. Sprinkle with a little sugar and bake for 12-15 minutes at 435 degrees. |
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| Our “fancified” kitchen table. Apparently the tablecloth needs to be adjusted… |
Big Brother used his Do-A-Dot Markers (A Valentines Day present) to create a “Cupid’s Cafe” sign. I just wrote the letters on a piece of paper and turned him loose. I was impressed!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go exchange my sweatpants for a little black dress. :)
Little black dress? You must be feeling better. (wink :)
You're becoming quite the photographer, friend. :) (And I think sugar makes three ingredients!) Those look like my kind of dessert.
Crystal, the Sonic Dr. Pepper you brought yesterday did the trick! :)
Rachel, thank you for your encouragement. It's easier to take pictures of objects that DON'T MOVE than of my own kids. :) And I debated whether to call the recipe a 3-ingredient recipe, but decided sprinkled sugar didn't warrant being included as an ingredient. :)
Hey I don't know how you feel about this but all the symptoms you have been mentioning lead me to think you need to see a Dr. of Functional medicine. I found one here and all your tired, "winter blues" with frequent sickness could be something medically you are dealing with. Your post struck a cord with me because I had the same winter and I just started to realize i have a thyroid problem, but instead of taking a pill the rest of my life I am going to a Dr. who will help me with the real problem and help me get well. I live in Austin Tx and Dr. Amy Meyers is my dr. Look her up for more info on the Functional Medicine.
about the dot markers, I went to a bingo shop and found a bunch of dobbers on clearance for about $.50 each! I bought tons and use these in place of the more expensive dot markers.
I love the windows in your kitchen. They are so rustic-looking! I, too, wanted to wear a cute black dress for our homemade Valentine's dinner but had a lot of trouble finding on that fit. Thank goodness my little girl had patience while I kept trying them on. I'm not sure I've worn a dress since I've had her!
I have always loved your Cupid's Cafe tradition. So special. And I have to say that you look gorgeous in the last picture! It's really cute.
I just made the tarts today with my two little girls. They loved how much hands on things they were able to do. We made 12 with the cherries and then put whipped cream on top (I forgot the sugar). Then we made 12 more filled with cheese and a touch of mayo. Yummy! My little ones loved this.
Guess What?! I made these today, but I used apple pie filling and put snowflake cutouts on top!!! so cute! thanks for the idea!!!
What a cute (and simple!) idea! Pinning!