Hazelnut Crusted Scallops

How delicious do these sound?  I have to admit, I did not come up with this one on my own – I found it through Coastal Living.  Click here for their recipe.  I made a few tweaks to make it a little healthier, and I paired them with my corn, lima bean, and potato salad recipe.  To my surprise, they went really well together!  What I loved about this recipe is the way they were cooked – you just briefly toss them to coat in a wonderful combination of butter, wine, and thyme, and then you bake them for 10 minutes.  Sometimes it can be hard to get the perfect golden crust on the scallops, but finishing them in the oven makes it really easy.

Ingredients

• 2  Tbs. margarine
• 1/2  cup  dry white wine
• 1  teaspoon  fresh thyme
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 8 large sea scallops (4 per person)
• 1/4  cup  panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped hazelnuts
• 2-3 Tbs. olive oil

Preparation

1) Preheat oven to375.

2)  Melt margarine in hot pan.  Stir in wine, thyme, salt, pepper, and a little olive oil. 

3)  Add scallops, turning to coat. Remove from heat.

4)  Combine panko and hazelnuts with a drizzle of olive oil so they mixture comes together.  Sprinkle mixture over the scallops.

5)  Bake for 11 minutes and serve with a garnish of thyme.

This would also be great over a bed of angel hair pasta or sauteed spinach. 

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Sweet Corn, Lima Bean and Potato Salad

With Labor Day right around the corner, summer is soon coming to a close!  But what better way to end the summer with some delicious new ways of eating sweet corn?  It’s easy to find right now, so get it while you can.  I came up with the combination for this recipe because they are three of my husband’s favorite foods – corn (he’s from Indiana), lima beans, and potatoes.  This is a really an incredible dish, and I paired it with some delicious scallops.  Stay tuned for that recipe tomorrow – they taste great with this fresh, summer salad.  I thought about adding black beans, feta, and basil at different points along the way, but it tasted so good, I didn’t want to mess it up.  They could be worth a try though.

Ingredients:

2 ears of corn – de-cobbed (is that a word?!)

1/2 cup lima beans (I used frozen and thawed them out)

Fingerling Potatoes – diced into 1 in. pieces (as many as you’d like)

1 Leek – thinly sliced and soaked in water

1 clove garlic minced

1 Tbs Dijon mustard

2 Tbs. lemon juice

2-3 Tbs. Olive Oil (for dressing)

Salt/ Pepper to taste

 

Directions:

1)  Bring saute pan to medium/ high heat.  Add 1-2 tbs. olive oil and saute the garlic and diced potatoes for 8-10 minutes or until almost cooked through.  Salt/ Pepper to taste.

2)  Add the lima beans, corn, and leeks to the mixture.  Add a little more salt/ pepper – it’s always good to season as you cook so you can adjust along the way.  You might also need to add a little more olive oil if you need more moisture.

3)  Meanwhile, prepare the dijon vinaigrette.  Whisk the Dijon and the lemon juice, then slowly add the olive oil until it emulsifies.  I try not to add too much olive oil, since there’s already some in the veggies.

4)  After the potatoes, beans, and corn have cooked for 10-15 minutes, remove from heat and add the Dijon vinaigrette.  Toss and enjoy!

To see the final dish come together – check out my scallops later this week!

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Lemon Lime Green Beans

One of my favorite bloggers, Heidi Swanson from 101 cookbooks, published this recipe in her new cookbook Super Natural Cooking. All of her recipes use fresh, healthy ingredients and are packed with flavor. These green beans are no exception. They are super simple to make – so simple I almost passed over this recipe thinking they might be too boring. So glad I didn’t! The zest from the lemon and the lime adds a nice punch of citrus flavor while bringing out the freshness of the green beans. I hope you like them as much as I do!

Ingredients
3/4 lb green beans – ends removed
2-3 green onions, chopped (Heidi calls for chives, but I didn’t have any on hand) 
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. water
1 zested lemon
1 zested lime
sea salt/ pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  After trimming the green beans, chop them on a diagonal cut.  They should be about a 1/2 inch.

2.  Add the green beans to a hot pan and coat with the olive oil.  Add the water.  Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes.

3.  Remove from heat and add zest, green onions, and salt/ pepper to taste

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Saturday Morning Smoothies

There’s nothing I love more about Saturday mornings than to be able to sleep in, work out and eat a good breakfast.  It’s such a nice way to start the weekend feeling refreshed and healthy.  One of my favorite Saturday morning breakfasts is a fruit smoothie because I rarely take the time during the week to break out the blender.  Now, there are a million different ways you can make a fruit smoothie by changing the fruits, consistency, liquid (milk vs. juice), and other add ons (i love honey!).  So what’s the perfect combination??  Well, you’re reading the right post, because I’ve figured out my favorite way to make healthy, fruit smoothies.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups frozen fruit – any combination.  here’s my usual:

• 1/2 raspberries
• 1/2 blueberries
• 1/2 strawberries

1 1/2 cups skim milk

6 oz. plain or vanilla greek yogurt

A good squirt or two of honey

Protein Powder for the guys – I  don’t usually add.  The greek yogurt adds enough protein for me.

Directions:

Blend until smooth!  Couldn’t be easier.

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