Ah, Valentine's Day! The nicest day of the year to show those you love your appreciation.

I don't know about all of you, but my way of showing love is through food. Whether it's your children, your spouse, your parents or special friends, making food people enjoy and sharing it with them seems to be inherent to those who like to cook and eat!

This year I'll be spending Valentine's Day with my sweet 4-year-old, so I've chosen some recipes “just for two” that I know he will love. They can easily be doubled or tripled if you are planning a larger celebration. The mini chocolate cheesecakes are perfect for sharing, and the pasta makes me think of the romantic image of two dogs sharing their plate of spaghetti (I won't name any names, but you know the one!). My son will probably eat his with chopsticks, though, so not quite so romantic :)

I wish you all the best for you and your loved ones this Valentine's Day and hope you try some of these delicious ideas!

Quick Bruschetta for Two
Prep time: 10 min. | Cooking time: 0 min. | Total time: 10 min. | Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1/4 cup quartered cherry tomatoes or 1/4 cup chopped plum tomatoes
2 tbsp. Kraft part skim Mozzarella shredded cheese
1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 tsp. Kraft 100% Parmesan light* grated cheese
2 tsp. Kraft Calorie-Wise zesty Italian dressing
2 thin slices French bread (1/4 inch thick), toasted

(*Kraft 100% grated Parmesan cheese light has 26% less fat than our regular grated Parmesan cheese.)

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients except toast.
• Spoon onto toast slices just before serving.

Kraft Kitchen Tip: Tomato mixture can be prepared ahead of time. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator up to 24 hours.

Shrimp in Love Pasta
Prep time: 10 min. | Cooking time: 20 min. | Total time: 30 min. | Servings: 2

Ingredients:

125g linguine, uncooked
1 cup frozen uncooked cleaned medium shrimp, thawed
3/4 cup (1/2 of 19 fl. oz./ 540mL can) diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup Philadelphia cream cheese spread
1 cup torn fresh spinach leaves

Directions:

• Cook pasta as directed on package.
• Meanwhile, cook and stir shrimp, tomatoes and cream cheese spread in large skillet on medium-high heat 3 to 4 min., or until shrimp are done and sauce is well blended. (Kraft Kitchen Tip: Shrimp are done when they turn pink and begin to curl slightly.)
• Drain pasta; place in large bowl. Add spinach and shrimp mixture; toss to coat.

Chocolate Cheesecake for Two
Prep time: 10 min. | Cooking time: 2 hrs. | Total time: 2 hrs. 10 min. | Servings: 2

Ingredients:

60g Philadelphia brick cream cheese, softened
1 square Baker's semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup thawed Cool Whip whipped topping
2 Oreo cookies

Directions:

• Beat cream cheese, chocolate and sugar in medium bowl with whisk until blended. Stir in Cool Whip.
• Place 1 cookie in each of 2 paper-lined muffin cups; top with cream cheese mixture.
• Refrigerate 2 hrs.
• Special extra: Top 1 cheesecake with heart-shaped stencil; sprinkle lightly with unsweetened cocoa powder or icing sugar. Carefully remove stencil. Repeat with remaining cheesecake.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cayla Runka, Kraft Kitchens Expert