Quickfire Dinner - Scallops and Garlic Noodles

After a late night of work, its hard to find the time to make dinner, especially when you haven't gone to the store in a few days. Last week we were in just that situation. So we pulled out some frozen scallops and defrosted them under cold running water for about 10-15 minutes. Dried them off well, and sprinkled a little  over them. Sear them in a hot pan for 90 seconds or so on each side and finish it off with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Garlic butter noodles are easy. Boil some spaghetti a minute or two less than the directions suggest. Mince a bunch of garlic. Melt some butter in a pan (I used about 2 Tbsp for half a pack of spaghetti). Throw in the minced garlic and a 1/2 tsp of salt and brown the butter and garlic on medium. Crank up the heat, and throw in your noodles. Toss them around nice and good, add some pepper, and serve. Veggies are always optional. In our case, some asparagus was in the fridge, so a light garlic and olive oil sauté was all it took.


As a finishing touch, I de-glazed the scallop pan with lemon juice and scraped the seared crud off the pan and topped the noodles with it. It added a unique lemony tang with some scallop juices and seasoning.

The lesson here, is to always keep some frozen scallops on hand. They defrost quickly and taste deluscious.