I’m travelling this week, so there will not be a new Thursday Night Menu.  Since it is Valentine’s Weekend, I thought I would go ahead and repost the menu from last year.  Why eat a mediocre dinner at an over-crowded restaurant when you can make a delicious and easy dinner at home for Valentine’s?  And it really is easy.  From 2010:

Every year around this time, one of my local grocers offers Cornish Game Hens in packages where they are cut in half. I decided I needed to do something with this idea, so the Valentine’s menu was born. When they are cut in half, it reduced cooking time enough for the recipe to be workable on a week night. Since Valentine’s falls on a Sunday this year, using whole game hens seems reasonable, too. Longer cooking time, but worth it. In case you’re feeling really ambitious, click here for JeffreyW’s wonderful stuffing recipe.  And if you’re looking for a more elegant dessert for Valentine’s Day try this recipe for Raspberry-Chocolate Cupcakes in Raspberry Sauce.

On the board tonight:

1. Cornish Game Hens w/Stuffing
2. Buttered Peas and Carrots
3. Tossed Salad
4. Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Cornish Game Hens

• 2 pkgs. stuffing mix
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• ½ cup boiling water or chicken broth
• 4 Cornish game hens, cut in half *
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 tsp crushed rosemary
• 2 tsp sage
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

9×13 glass baking dish

Add stuffing mix, 2 tbsp melted butter and boiling water to baking dish, stir & spread evenly over bottom of baking dish. Lay hens cut side down over stuffing (it’s a tight fit, but you should be able to get all 8 halves in the 13×9 pan). Melt remaining butter, add spices and mix well. Brush some over hens and continue to baste every 10-15 minutes while baking. Bake at 350 to 375° until internal temperature is 175 ° about 45 minutes. Remove, cover loosely with foil and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.  Serves 4

*Hens will have to thawed completely and you’ll need a sharp knife to cut them in half. You can check with your butcher to see if they’ll cut them for you. If you don’t want to cut them in half, cook them whole and allow 1 hour 10 minutes cooking time.

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Preheat oven to 375°

• ¾ cup chunky peanut butter
• ½ cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 ¾ cup flour
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 13-16 oz bag Hershey’s Kisses

2 bowls and baking sheet

Combine peanut butter, butter, sugar, milk and vanilla in bowl. Beat with mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add egg, beat until blended. In small bowl, combine flour, salt & soda. Add to creamed mixture at low-speed until just blended (don’t over mix). Scrape sides and bottom and make sure all flour is mixed. Drop by heaping teaspoon full onto baking sheet, unwrap kisses and press 1 into each cookie. Bake for 7-8 minutes. Remove to racks and cool.

Shopping List:

• 2 pkgs. stuffing mix
• 2 sticks butter
• 4 Cornish game hens, cut in half if possible
• chunky peanut butter
• 1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• 13-16 oz bag Hershey’s Kisses
• 1 egg
• 16 oz bag frozen peas and carrots
• Tossed salad ingredients

Also: rosemary, sage, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, milk, flour, baking soda, chicken broth