A Blue Valentine’s Day meal, when your Valentine’s isn’t so RED!
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Blue Valentine Meal: Blue Tres Leches, Blueberry Compote, Blue Chicken
A Valentine’s Day Alternative Theme
While we all love a Valentine’s full of hearts, kisses, romantic meals and cupids, let’s face it, every year isn’t that way. Many years ago, when I was going through my divorce, a girlfriend suggested we have a Blue Valentine’s, with all the food being blue themed to go with my “Blue” mood. It was great fun thinking up recipes! As a nod to those of you who may need a new twist on this day meant for lovers, I present a Blue Valentine Dinner. Share it with some friends on Feb. 14 and I’ll just bet you will feel some cheer!
First–off to shop for “Blue Food”
Found the Buitoni Sauces near the bread and deli. The New Nestle’s Tres Leches were featured in the Main Aisle!
I headed off to my local Walmart to get all the key ingredients for my Blue Valentine’s meal. I decided to make Blue Chicken so I grabbed some Buitoni Alfredo Sauce as the base for my chicken’s sauce. Having heard about Nestle New Tres Leches Baking Mixes (usually quite a difficult dessert to prepare from scratch), I decided that Blue Tres Leche Cupcakes would be the perfect! As the chicken and dessert are rather heavy, I grabbed some blueberries and grapes to whip up a Blueberry Fruit Compote to lighten the meal.
Blue Tres Leches Cupcake Recipe
Tres Leches Cake is a sponge cake popular in the U.S., Mexico, and South America. It is a “wet cake”, not unlike tiramisu or a trifle. The name means “3 milk cake”, so named as the sponge cake is literally soaked in three kinds of milk: heavy cream, evaporated milk and condensed milk. The new Nestle’s Tres Leches Baking Mix gives directions right on the side of the box to make Tres Leches Cupcakes so I won’t repeat that recipe here.
However, I will give you the tip on the “Icing”. The box suggest topping the cake or cupcakes with sweetened whipping cream. Instead, I used Cool Whip Frosting and dyed it blue with a tiny bit of food coloring. SO EASY! Blue Dessert Done!
Blue Chicken
This recipe is a long time favorite of mine, meant to be made with Curaçao (a liqueur). However, the first time I made it I was very young, so I bought Blue Curaçao, not knowing any better, hence the name of this dish.
P.S. Blue Curaçao and Curaçao taste exactly alike. Don’t let the addition of this liqueur put you off making this dish. It adds a delicious orangey tang and the alcohol burns off during the cooking! The Buitoni alfredo sauce makes a nice substitute for the heavy cream that this recipe normally calls for.
- 3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
- 1 tspn. salt
- 4 chicken medium breasts, skinned, boned and halved
- 1 Tbs. butter
- 1 Tbs. cooking oil of choice
- 4-6 Tbs. Curacao
- ¾ cup champagne (or sparkling apple juice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 cups sliced fresh white mushrooms
- 1 Tbs. butter, melted
- ¾ cup Buitoni alfredo sauce (or ½ cup whipping cream)
- blueberries
- Seedless grapes
- Combine salt and flour
- Coat chicken in flour mixture
- Heat 1 Tbs. butter and oil in large skillet
- Add chicken and cook for 5 min each side (or until slightly browned on each side)
- Place chicken in a oven proof pan in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes
- In a skillet, add curacao, champagne, and broth and simmer
- Add the oven cooked chicken and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes
- Cook mushrooms in 1 Tbs butter, add to chicken along with alfredo sauce
- Spoon all into a warmed serving dish along with fruit compotes of grapes and blueberries
Doesn’t this fun Blue Valentine Dinner make your Valentine’s Day just a little more fun?
How fun!! This is actually super convenient as my best friend in the whole world is going through a divorce 🙁 I shall do this for her!!
Tres leches is a favorite at our house!
wow, a blue chicken dish! my kids would think its cool
I really like the idea of doing a different color for Valentine’s Day!
This blue chicken recipe looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it, if not for Valentine’s day, just a recipe for our weekly dinners 🙂
The chicken recipe looks good and I’m always looking for new things to make. I love the idea of blue valentine’s…we aren’t all pink fans (anymore…the teen when she was younger had a PINK room that glowed…)
I love this idea. Valentine’s Day isn’t so much fun for some people – your girlfriend was wise (and fun)!
Thanks for the BLUE TRES LECHES CUPCAKE RECIPE. I am going to try it.
Super fun!!! What I’m really psyched for is those tres leches cupcakes!! My most favorite cake ever!!
This is such a cute idea and the chicken looks so cool, pun intended 🙂
How fun! Love this unique idea. I pinned this – pinterest.com/pin/544091198704095753/
How fun is this? I am a single so this is a great idea! Thank you! #client
The blue idea is so fun! Something different. Those cakes look absolutely delicious!!! #client
I love Tres Leches cake but I’ve never seen it as a boxed mix. I bet that makes it a lot easier! I love the decorations and color you chose too – the blue cool whip frosting is beautiful.
LOVE the ‘blue’ Valentine’s theme. I’m all about the holiday without the usual red and pink hearts and little tiny cupids. Those cupcakes looks delish and I need to try that chicken recipe. Yum! – Katy
That looks really tasty! And there’s a box version of Tres Leches cake? I’m gonna have to check that out!
Oh my goodness! I love how all of this turned out! You can certainly help me make my husband’s Vday special!
Can’t imagine feeling blue while eating that meal!
I’ve always wanted to incorporate Blue Curaco into a recipe, how wonderful to pair it with chicken! This is such a clever way to celebrate Valentine’s! Of course, I never need an excuse for a tres leches cake 🙂
I LOVE how you turned Valentine’s Day into something a single person can also enjoy-I was single for many years before I spent a Valentine’s Day with a significant other so I know the single I, along with many other single people out there, appreciate the thought behind your ‘Blue Valentine’s Day’.
If I ever happen to be single when Valentine’s Day rolls around, I’m throwing a blue party!!