Blackened Scallops.

Time to change it up, tonight Maddie requested scallops! The last time I made scallops they turned out perfect, I could of just went with the same recipe from before but I had an urge to try something new. You know what they say, you never know until you try. When the word got around to my sister Mia what we were having for dinner, she then requested…BLACKENED scallops. Perfect, that was easy I didn’t have to put any thought into dinner thanks to my sisters. EXCEPT the fact that I was a little nervous to blacken the scallops because I wasn’t sure how spicy they would turn out. I crossed my fingers & this is how it turned out…

What you will need…

• 16 oz (about 12-14) sea scallops
• salt and fresh pepper
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 10 oz baby spinach, washed
• 2 cups of brown rice
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 cup white wine
• 4 cups fat free chicken stock
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 tsp each of onion powder, garlic salt & cayenne pepper (blackening spice)

In a medium size heavy sauce pan, add butter on medium-low heat. Add shallots, sauté about 1 minute.

Add rice mixing well until well coated and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add wine, salt and pepper and mix well until it is absorbed into the rice. Ladle 1 cup stock into rice and mix until all stock is absorbed, add another ladle, and continue adding and stirring until all broth is absorbed, about 20-25 minutes. Add Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Wash scallops and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix 2 tsp of onion powder,garlic salt & cayenne pepper together and drench scallops in blackening spice until fully coated. **NOTE** This was extremely spicy, if you don’t like spice I would cut the cayenne pepper to 1/2 tsp***

Heat a medium size pan, when pan is hot melt 1 tsp butter and place half of the scallops in the pan. Sear without touching them for a few minutes until the bottom forms a nice caramel colored crust. Turn over and cook about another minute or 2, until the center is slightly translucent  and the bottom is seared. Be careful not to overcook. Remove from the pan and set aside on a warm plate.

Add olive oil to the pan and sauté shallots, add spinach, salt and pepper. Toss until spinach wilts.

Serves 3…hot, hot, hot 😉

adapted from: http://www.skinnytaste.com

Sweet tooth kicks in again tonight! This time I went with Jell-O’s Instant Cook & Serve Pudding!

mmmMmm much better! 🙂