Recipe(tried): Lazy Herbed Chicken and Valentine's Day Dinner ideas for Lauren

Lauren, You can tell Jackie is an accomplished cook! She has some great ideas. Here are a couple more you might think about.

I'm posting a recipe for Lazy Herbed Chicken that my family loves, and it's pretty easy to do.
You might start the dinner with tomato soup - red for Valentines! But dress up that canned stuff a little bit, by sprinking it with just a shake of parmesan cheese on top of each cup or bowl right before you serve it.
Maybe serve a green salad with the chicken - buy a bag of mixed greens in the produce section, and pick up some walnut pieces and dried cherries to add in. Serve with a vinagrette dressing from a bottle.
The chicken dish makes a nice sauce, so I like to cook rice to serve with it - 2 cups of water and 1 cup of rice, with a little salt, brought to a boil and then simmered very gently for 20 minutes. Don't stir, and don't peek! Start it when the chicken has been in the oven for 20 minutes. If your parents don't like rice, try a small pasta, like orzo, and follow the directions on the box.
Broccoli also tastes great with that sauce, if you don't want to do the salad. Buy fresh broccoli - makes a big difference - and separate the florets. Put them in a colander or steamer over boiling water for about 7 minutes, and then check to see if you can pierce them with a fork easily. You don't want them mushy or dull-colored. They may need another minute, but not much more. Top with a pat of butter.
For dessert, Jackie's right, that ice cream with strawberries and chocolate sounds great. Or you can mix together chocolate pudding and some Cool Whip for a quick and easy version of mousse. Or make cherry Jell-o Jigglers, the recipe is on the box, and cut out hearts! You can do that (or the mousse)way early in the day, and keep them refrigerated.

Lazy Herbed Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbls.butter
2 Tbls.cooking oil
1 tsp.grated lemon rind (optional)
1/4 tsp.each of basil & oregano
2 Tbls.lemon juice
1 (10 3/4 oz.)can cream of chicken soup (don't add water)

Brown the chicken in a skillet, in the butter & oil. Drain off fat & place chicken in a baking dish. You can skip this step if you want to, and just put the raw chicken in a baking pan, but the browning gives the chicken a nice look and an extra-nice taste. You may need to bake it slightly longer if you skip this.

Mix lemon rind, basil, oregano, lemon juice & soup together & spoon over top of chicken.

Cover with aluminum foil & bake at 325 degrees for about 50 min. You'll need to cut into the center of one piece of chicken and make sure there's no pink left, if you skip the browning step.

Good luck, Lauren! You're sweet to do this for your parents!