Bacon-Wrapped Scallops

It's been over three weeks since my last post, and believe me, I bet you all were thrilled to be exempt from feeling guilty about not clicking my blog. Fear not, though. I'm back an I've got an entire backlog of recipes to share!

First, I'll start with my bacon-wrapped scallops. As you know, I have been celebrating "date night" by preparing a delicious dinner that costs more than $2 per serving and is absent of leftovers. We have been eating quite a bit of fish lately, so I wanted to continue with the seafood theme while also getting creative. I know, I know... bacon-wrapped scallops isn't some novel culinary invention, but whatever. Have you ever made them in your home kitchen? No, you say? Well then don't judge!

I found a few recipes online, but because they all required a zillion steps that I didn't care to take, I decided that I'd wing it and do it my own way. As it turns out, my own way turned out to be just wonderful, if I do say so myself! I served with roasted green beans and red mashed potatoes made with garlic and plain fat free yogurt rather than sour cream. So, so good!

The recipe is incredibly easy, so I'm not really going to post the ingredients, but rather I'm going to skip to the method.

Method:

1. Obtain any quantity of large sea scallops.

2. Obtain half as many bacon strips as you have scallops. Slice each piece of bacon in half so that you now have as many bacon pieces as you do scallops. Amazing.

3. Wrap a piece of bacon around the scallop and secure with a toothpick.

4. Sprinkle top of scallop with garlic powder and salt.

5. Arrange foodstuff in a prepared baking dish.

6. Pour about a 1/4 cup of white wine around the scallops and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the  internal temperature reaches 120'.

7. Heat a frying pan and melt a dab o' butter. Sear the scallops on each side for about a minute so that they develop a gorgeous golden brown crust.  They should be about 145' inside. Pin It

Pasta and Creamy White Beans

When you don't eat a lot of meat and are deathly afraid of becoming anemic and/or developing Kwashiorkor, it's important to be creative when trying to incorporate iron and protein into your diet.  That's where beans come in- they're packed with iron, protein, and fiber, and are low in fat and calories. They're also super cheap, thereby making them an excellent choice for people looking to cook Moet & Chandon meals on a Keystone Light budget.

The recipe below calls for a lot of olive oil, which means that 95% of you will be too scared to make this, but before you write this recipe off forever, I beg you to please do a shred of research. As I've mentioned before, extra-virgin olive oil (when consumed in moderation) is good for you and is part of a heart-healthy diet. It contains the lowest saturated fat content and the highest monounsaturated fat of all oils. Olive oil is good for your hair, skin, and nails, and can actually help reduce your risk of heart disease. I'm no dietician, but I'm really good at justifying eating fatty foods!

So anyway, don't be scared to make this recipe! When made with whole wheat pasta, it contains all of your essential amino acids and will help protect you from having a heart attack for one more day.

Ingredients:
2 cans drained cannelinni beans
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 box pasta (I always use whole wheat shells)

Method:
1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Make pasta. Once it's fully cooked (not al dente!), drain and do not rinse. 

2. During all of step 1: In a sauce pan, combine olive oil, salt, and garlic. Allow to lightly simmer.

3. Once the olive oil begins to take on a slight garlic flavor, add the drained beans and water.

4. Allow the bean mixture to simmer on medium for a few minutes. You'll know it's simmered enough when the mixture begins to look mucus-y. That's right... I'm not afraid to say when my food resembles phlegm.

4. Once your beans etc. have begun to look really yellow and gross, remove from heat and smash about 90% of them with a fork or a spoon. If you own a spork, go ahead and use that.Your mixture will become creamy. Yum yum delish.

5. Put drained pasta back into its pan and pour bean sauce over it. Stir until evenly coated. Now eat it. It's SO good!


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Pesto Chicken (10 Minute Dinner)

Rachel Ray thinks she's all slick with her thirty minute meals, but I've cooked something up that would turn her face red! Ten minute chicken! Oh yes, my friends... there's a new girl on the block and you can bet your chubby bottom that she doesn't have a raspy voice or swear by a garbage bowl!

I am a huge fan of pesto, as I'm sure you gathered from my recent Pesto Cannelini Bean Soup recipe. As I've branched out beyond my former cucnina comfort zone, I've learned that pesto sauce doesn't just have to be served over a steaming hot bowl of pasta (but if you're going to do this, eat it over tortelinni... Oh my goodness gracious!), but rather it can be used as a main ingredient in so many other recipes.

Pesto chicken is amazing and so easy. Sure, you could go ahead and make it more complicated by whipping up your own batch of the green stuff (I'd probably be really mad at you for upstaging me, but whatevs... we're probably not friends anyway!), but why bother when you can buy a decent jar at your local grocery store. The farmers' market always sells delicious pesto sauce, but it's $7. Since I try to be spendthrift, though, I reserve the expensive stuff for pasta-only dishes and use the cheap stuff when I'm adding other ingredients. So don't feel like a loser buying the cheapest thing on the shelf because I'll be right there with you, having one of those moments when we both reach for the same item at the exact same time.

Ingredients
1 pound chicken
3 tbsp pesto sauce (remember, it's okay to be a cheapskate!)
2 cloves pressed garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
lemon juice to taste, optional

Method:
1. Using kitchen shears, cut chicken into 1"-ish chunks. They should be about 1" x 1".

2. Combine oil, pesto sauce, garlic, and lemon if you choose to use it. I usually omit this unless I'm using the marinade for seafood. This will be more of a rub than a marinade, but if you want to marinade, it will still be good and there won't be any waste. Doesn't it break your heart to dump a half a cup of olive oil down the drain? All. That. Money!

3. If you want to marinate them, go ahead... it will make it taste even more delicious. I usually do this before I go to work. If you don't have time to marinate, no big deal. Proceed to step 4.

4. Toss coated chicken into a frying pan over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

5. Serve it, bro! We've been eating partially ghetto style, so last night we had this with leftover beans and pierogies. Ha. Honestly, though, this would be awesome with roasted red potatoes or a side of pinata pasta (recipe on this blog). Pin It