Salad + Scallops = Super!

This is a quick, easy dinner. Mike talked me into a nap and out of the gym when I got home from work so it's a good thing that we had a nice light dinner.

Scallops Salad

Greens (I had romaine on hand)

Goat Cheese, crumbled

Craisins

Pecans, chopped

Scallops (pan seared for about 5 minutes in a little olive oil and white wine vinegar, with salt and pepper)

Dressing (we used the Good Seasons Italian)

** I would like to have added grape tomatoes, but we didn't have any! :-)

Crispy Fishies

I won't go into a lot of detail here. This was a simple meal that I threw together in a matter of minutes. I had some fresh tilapia and shrimp and I didn't feel like finding a good recipe. So, here is what I did. For the tilapia, I sprinkled them with Emeril's Fish Rub and a little Old Bay, dipped them in an egg and rolled in crushed corn flakes then I baked them on 350 for about 15 minutes. For the shrimp, I put some butter (in my case, Smart Balance Light) in a pan on the stove and sprinkled with garlic powder and Old Bay...cooked until nice and pink. I steamed some frozen broccoli and made a batch of Jiffy corn bread (added just a bit of sugar to the mix). Easy and delicious meal!

Succulent Scallops...

The motivation behind this dinner was a picture from another nestie's blog. Saw it, wanted it, made it last night! This was so easy to make and it had a really great flavor...a subtle sweetness almost (some of which came from my choice of wine to use in it, I'm sure). Really good, nonetheless. I planned to serve it with some orzo and a small salad but I got a bit of a late start and then realized I didn't have any orzo. So, I whipped up some pasta noodles...threw in some butter, garlic and parmesan and then topped with the scallops. To serve over pasta, you need a bit more of the sauce that the scallops are cooked in though and it didn't quite make enough for that. I think these would be great with wild rice (didn't want to wait 50 mins for the rice to cook). As you can tell, it wasn't the best planned meal ever. Oh well, Mike didn't get home to eat until10 p.m from his flag football game so I really wasn't worried about it because I knew he would be starving and would eat whatever there was. Enough rambling, here is the recipe with some of my changes (mainly due to only having certain things on hand). I got the original from the Sing for Your Supper blog.

Scallops Provencal

1 lb of fresh bay or sea scallops (I used a 1/2 lb of sea scallops)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

All-purpose flour, for dredging

4 tbsp of butter (I used Smart Balance Light)

1/2 cup of chopped shallots (2 large) (I used 1 large)

1 garlic clove, minced (I used 2)

1/4 cup of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (I used dried)

1/3 cup of dry white wine (I used 1/4 cup of Riesling and 1/8 cup of white wine vinegar)

1 lemon, cut in 1/2 (I omitted because I didn't have one)

Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.

In a very large saute pan, heat 2 tbsp of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in one layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on one side without moving them. Then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should only take 3-4 minutes. Add the rest of the butter to the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the scallops with the seasoning. Add the white wine (and vinegar if you use it), cook for one minute. I let it simmer for just a bit longer, stirring slowly. If you have lemon, squeeze the lemon on the scallops and serve hot.

Penne a la Delicious..I mean, Betsy!

One look at this deliciousness on Pioneer Woman's blog and I knew it was going to be heavenly...and in our tummies real soon. I love me some shrimp, that's for sure. I had been planning to make this for the last two weekends in a row and finally got around to it last night (I'm not sure what took me so long...I don't have kids, I don't work 2 jobs ...ok, whatever). I tend to get a little intimidated by recipes and I admit I was nervous about this one too. Boy was I surprised when I realized how easy and relatively quick it was to make. This dish has a lot of flavor and a lot of shrimp, but it is so light and oh so good. I really felt like it came right out of a restaurant...it did, Kelly's Deli...hehe. You must try this one out. It is so worth it. This is one of those meals to make for guests...I definitely think they would be impressed. Here is the original recipe with some of my changes too:

Penne a la Betsy

Ingredients:

¾ lb. penne pasta

3 tbsp. butter, divided (I used smart balance light)

3 tbsp. olive oil, divided

1 lb. large shrimp (I used 1 lb of medium white shrimp) - I also added 1/4 lb of bay scallops...yum!

1 small white onion, finely chopped (I used a shallot)

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup white wine (or chicken broth) (I used Riesling)

1 (8 oz.) can plain tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream (I substituted with 3/4 of ff milk and 1/3 cup of melted butter)

1 tbsp. fresh parsley

chopped basil leaves, to taste (use a bunch!)

Directions:

Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, while water heats and pasta cooks, make the sauce. Melt 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a few minutes, until opaque. Remove to a plate to let cool. Heat 2 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. olive oil in the skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally. While the onion and garlic are cooking, chop the shrimp into small, bite-sized pieces. Add the wine (or chicken broth) to the pan and allow to reduce for a few minutes. Chiffonade the basil leaves and set aside. Stir in tomato sauce. Add the heavy cream and stir well to combine. Add shrimp back to the skillet and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the parsley and basil and mix well.

Drain pasta and return to pot. Add the sauce to the pot and stir well to combine. Serve.

Thanks to Annie's Eats for the nice typed up version of the recipe that you see above!