11 Easy Valentine's Day Recipes For Exhausted But In-Love Parents

Want to make a treat for your sweetheart? A Cookie Named Desire’s white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars are totally homemade but still simple — enough extra effort to feel special without being a source of frustration. And they just look delicious.

Who doesn’t love a French 75 at an upscale bar before dinner? Well, you can replicate it in a festive way at home with Dude That Cookz’ raspberry pink 75 cocktail recipe. He’ll walk you through how to make a raspberry simple syrup (it’s not hard, I promise) and shake up the perfect sips for your date night in.

I mean, you see what I see — do I need to explain why Princess Pinky Girl’s bruschetta chicken pasta looks like a delicious Valentine’s Day dinner recipe? The meal only takes about 30 minutes to make, and you still get to enjoy a super satisfying Italian dish without the expensive tab at the end.

You need 10 minutes and five ingredients to whip up delicious, pillowy lemon butter scallops using this recipe from Damn Delicious. The post itself and the comments are full of great tips for cooking scallops to perfection, if you’ve never tried before.

Want a restaurant-quality salad for a side or starter? Try Life As A Strawberry’s pear arugula salad. The roasted pecans give it the perfect crunch, the shaved parmesan adds the savory element, and it’s all tossed in a tasty lemon vinaigrette.

If you’ve never made a steak in the cast iron skillet before, let this be your sign to try it. All The Healthy Things’ recipe will explain how to get it cooked to perfection with that crisp, flavorful sear you’re after. Once you taste the results, you’ll never cook them on the grill again.

Need a steakhouse-quality side? Life As A Strawberry’s bacon and bleu cheese-topped asparagus has that exact vibe. It takes about 20 minutes to make and is super easy, but the flavors will make a big impact around the table.

One pan, five minutes of prep, and 15 minutes in the oven — I’m not sure dinner gets much easier than Feel Good Foodie’s baked feta salmon. This with some wine, good bread and oil, and a side salad? Valentine’s Day dinner is gonna be great.

Marry Me Chicken is a dish of seared chicken breasts in a flavorful sun-dried tomato and parmesan cream sauce. Feel Good Foodie’s recipe keeps things easy, requiring just 15 minutes of prep and one skillet to get the job done. Serve the chicken and all that delicious sauce over pasta.

The Stush Kitchen’s blushing belle cocktail is so cute and festive for a V-Day meal at home. You just shake together the five ingredients for 30 seconds and they’re done, but the addition of an egg white will make your boo look at you like a master mixologist.

This year, we are not complicating dessert. If you want something chocolatey and delicious, try this easy brownie recipe from Our Love Language Is Food. If you want to make them more festive, you can absolutely top the batter with sprinkles before baking or throw some whipped cream and a cherry on top.