In many relationships, each person has their own set of personal skills. In our relationship, my husband is the chef. I can cook, but I am a slave to recipes and need very specific directions.

As soon as I see something in a recipe that seems complicated, I tend to freak out. When I first glanced at the Crockpot Carnitas recipe, my "cooking fear alarm" sent up a major red flag.

Phrases like "dry rub," "sear" and "lightly fry until browned" all sounded like they belong on the Food Network, and not in something I'm capable of making. These thoughts generally cause me to flip to the next page of the cookbook. I guess I'm not an adventurous cook... But THIS Valentine's Day I wanted to make something special for my husband. So... I gave it a try!

Romance is often sparked by surprise and cooking a fantastic meal for your cooking-inclined partner is an equally-fantastic surprise. After overcoming my cooking-phobia, I realized this recipe looks way harder than it actually is.  The finished meal looks impressive, tastes delicious, is friendly on your wallet and is a relatively simple dish to make. If I can do it, so can you!

Now to debunk those buzzwords to help any other not-so-kitchen-inclined cooks out there.

Creating a "dry rub" basically involves mixing the spices in a shallow bowl until well blended, coating the meat with olive oil and taking a little bit of the mixture in your fingers and rubbing it onto the meat.  It's like treating your pork to a shiatsu massage.

"Sear" is a fancy word for browning at a high heat. After finding a pan large enough to sear each side uniformly, rotate the meat until each side forms a medium to hard crust. It will look as if the meat is already cooked.

"Lightly fry" takes about ten minutes, until it looks brown and delicious.

Prep time the night before will take approximately 15 minutes. The morning of your dinner, preparations should take about 30 minutes. After roasting in the Crockpot for 5-6 hours, it will only take an additional 10 minutes of prep time before serving.

This is the perfect Valentine's Day surprise for that chef in your life because not only does it fit into your busy schedule, it is also extremely versatile. The timing allows you to mix the rub before bed, wake-up a little early to sear the meat and finish it up right as your sweetheart gets home from work. This recipe can make for a fun date night or you can serve it with scrambled eggs as a delicious breakfast in bed for your sweetie. You will probably have enough leftover to do both!

Now that you know the basics, check out the recipe in this month's Foodie News recipe section here.