Seared Scallops with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

Hello! In an attempt to mix things up, we tried a new recipe tonight. I have cooked most types of seafood before, but never scallops, so we decided to give it a go! We used the following recipe for seared scallops, and it came out delightful! Also, fun fact: If you do Weight Watchers, this is only 7 PointsPlus!

Recipe from My Gourmet Connection

 Ingredients (serves 4... or 3 if you're my family!)

Seriously, I use ramekins whenever possible. Makes me feel like a real chef!

• 1 pound dry sea scallops (not the wet ones... they're not natural!)
• Freshly ground salt and black pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (since there aren't many seasonings on this, use a good olive oil!)
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped (Or, in the interest of laziness, 2 cubes of frozen crushed garlic)
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• Juice and zest of 1 fresh lemon
• 2 tablespoons of light cream

Directions
Remove the "feet" from your scallops. It's sort of like a little tag hanging off the scallop, but supposedly is NOT great to eat. Luckily they're easy to remove, just pull them off!

Pat the scallops dry (this helps the seasoning stick better). Season them on both sides with salt and pepper, and set aside.

 Add half of the butter and the olive oil to a skillet, and heat over medium-high heat until very hot. Then add the scallops in a single layer. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side (I chose 2, since I used big sea scallops). Don't turn them too soon, or you'll miss out on a delicious sear like these ones!

Once they are done, remove them to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm while you make this sauce.
This part moved quickly, so no time to take pictures! In the pan that you cooked the scallops, add the rest of the butter. Heat until it starts to foam, then add the garlic. Cook until you can smell the garlic (about 30 seconds), then deglaze the pan with wine! Cook another 30 seconds, then add the lemon juice and zest.
If at this point you feel like the sauce is too thin, give it a minute or two to reduce and thicken a little bit. At the end, stir in the cream and remove from heat!

I think these scallops would probably go with any side dish too, since the flavors are simple yet strong! :)
We chose roasted asparagus and a white and black rice medley! Very tasty!

Enjoy! :)

Chicken Fajita Night!

Good evening internet :)
So I am currently spending 6 weeks with two of my friends in Virginia, and so I decided that the LEAST I could do was make them a few nice dinners! (Mainly just an excuse to add some more blog posts for you all)
After making Dino Nuggets twice this week, I thought they were due for some real chicken...

ENTER: Chicken Fajitas!

Or tacos. Or burritos. I'm not entirely certain of the technical difference, but in MY eyes, these are fajitas, so you can just deal with that.


This is a good, easy, flavorful meal that always goes over well (or at least that's what they told me!) Enjoy!


Ingredients:

• 4 Limes 
• Olive oil
• Garlic (About 4 cloves... or more. If you read more posts, you'll know I often take liberty with garlic!)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon cilantro
• Chicken (~4 breasts yields about 8 fajitas)
• Soft tortillas (white, wheat, corn, whatever floats your boat)
• Cheese
• Toppings (Whatever you like! We used lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream)

Directions:

First you have to make the marinade for the chicken:

To make the marinade, whisk together the lime juice with an equal amount of olive oil. Once whisked, crush/mince the garlic and add to the marinade, and follow with the cumin and cilantro. 

Slice the chicken into strips and let it soak in the marinade. 

And try to marinade the chicken enough in advance that they really get a chance to spend quality time together. About 4 hours of marinating time is good!

Done marinating? Time to go!

Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

Saute the chicken strips in the skillet until they are cooked through and browned on the outside. 

*NOTE*: DON'T OVERLOAD THE SKILLET! To avoid this, you may have to do this in batches.  If you do it in batches, use water to deglaze the skillet in between batches or else the little pieces of chicken and garlic that stick will burn before you are done!

You're more or less done at this point. But here's my favorite part!

Lay some of the chicken strips on the tortillas, sprinkle on the cheese, and stick it under the broiler until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is slightly crunchy.

Mmmmm... melted cheese :)

Add your toppings, and you're good to go!! Enjoy!