Weeknight Bites: Seared Scallops with Bacon, Cabbage and Apple

Scallops could quite possibly be one of my favorite foods. They're so delicious, versatile and easy to make - what more could you ask for? Today's recipe is fresh, bright and really allows the scallops to shine as the star of the dish. It comes from the January/February 2013 issue of Cooking Light (ya, ok, I'm a little obsessed with this magazine), and though I made a few minor changes of my own, it's definitely a keeper. Need a quick and healthy but still fabulous dinner recipe this week? This one won't disappoint.

Seared Scallops with Bacon, Cabbage and Apple

Adapted from Cooking Light magazine (Jan/Feb 2013)

3 center-cut bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

6 cups thinly sliced green cabbage

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 cup water

1 chopped Gala apple

3 tbs cider vinegar

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tbs canola oil

16 large sea scallops (1 lb)

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp fresh dill, chopped

Cook bacon pieces in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon pieces from pan, keeping drippings in the skillet. 

Add sliced cabbage and dried thyme to pan and saute for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 cup water and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cover pan.

Cook for 5 minutes, then stir in chopped apple and cider vinegar. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Stir in bacon and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Separately, heat a heavy skillet over high heat. Add oil to pan and swirl to coat. Season scallops lightly with salt and pepper, then add to pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until scallops are done (3 minutes works well for cook time on large scallops; use 2 minutes for smaller). 

Place 1 cup cabbage mixture on each of 4 plates. Arrange 4 scallops on each serving and sprinkle with dill.

Until next time...

Cheers!

Snack Pack: Crunchy BBQ Chick Peas (GF)

In my last post, I mentioned that I recently decided to go gluten-free. I have to say, it's been more difficult than I imagined. I've cheated a couple (ok, maybe several) times. Even so, I do notice a difference (a positive one) in the way I feel in the times when I stick to it. I also REALLY notice a difference (a not-so-positive one) when I mistakenly (or, more often than not, purposely - I told you, it's been hard) eat something with gluten in it.

Many people ask me why I initially decided that this was something I wanted to try. I'm not Celiac, so it wasn't as if I HAD to do it. That being said, I'd talked to several friends and family members who had gone GF, some more recently than others, and after having discussions with people who swore that a GF diet had changed their life, I did some research of my own.

I've dealt with G.I. issues since I can remember, and I've been taking some form of acid-reducing/acid-inhibiting medication on a regular basis since I was in high school. Much of the research that I read about a GF diet indicated that it may help to relieve some of the persistent (and uncomfortable) symptoms that come along with tummy troubles. So I decided I'd try it. I'd rather control my issues naturally than have to take medication all the time.

I did really well for the first month or so (everything I've read says you really have to be GF for 6 weeks or more to get all of that icky gluten out of your system initially, so it will likely take that long to truly see how the diet will work for you), but unfortunately, lately I've kind of fallen off the wagon.

I love pastas and pizza and heck, apparently I love bread. A lot. And yes, you can eat all of those things and still be gluten-free, but it just isn't the same. And honestly, the stuff hides EVERYWHERE! Soups, salad dressing, sauces...spices, for goodness sake. I find myself checking the labels of everything I eat, hoping and praying before I look at the ingredient list that I won't find something forbidden.

I think that my true problem with eliminating gluten from my diet is that I'm such a proponent of EASY cooking. You can make a perfectly healthy, easy dinner for yourself and for your family and it doesn't have to be gluten-free. So really, I have to weigh the pros and cons every time I make my menu. Continue to eat gluten even though I know that I can do my body better if I don't? Or sacrifice a little more time in the kitchen/making my menu so that I feel as great as possible? I'm trying to do the latter. And once I figure out the maze that is gluten-free eating, my goal is to figure out a way to make it easy, too.

One of the biggest problems that I had during my first two weeks of this diet was figuring out how to keep my caloric intake in the right place. I needed something to nibble on in between meals, something that would fill me up enough to hold me over and prevent me from picking up something I wasn't supposed to eat just because I was that hungry. I needed snacks.

Today's recipe is a tried and true one for me. I honestly make these probably three times a week. My husband and I are addicted to them. I've made them with all kinds of flavor combinations, too, and I always enjoy them. The recipe I'm giving you just happens to be one of my favorite combos, but feel free to try your own as well (seriously, even just salt and pepper works great!).

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1 tbsp olive oil

chili powder (I use McCormick - check your label!)

ground cumin (I also use McCormick)

salt

pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Drain chickpeas and pour beans onto a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over beans and stir to coat. Sprinkle chili powder, ground cumin, salt and pepper on beans, mixing together to coat well (use as much as you like, there are no exact measurements here. I sprinkle enough to cover the beans evenly). Place in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and stir beans. Add back to preheated oven for 15 minutes. 

Allow chickpeas to cool for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Until next time...

Cheers!

 

New Year, New Life

Happy New Year, everyone! I realize that this sentiment is slightly delayed since 2013 has been here for a full two weeks now, but hey - like they always say, better late than never, right?

2013. Wow. Where has the time gone? This year marks 11 years since I graduated from high school, 7 years since I graduated from college (SEVEN?!? whew!), and 6 years since I first started my job at Norfolk Southern. It also marks the last year of my twenties...good grief. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was turning 21?

Sometimes it feels that way. Like 11 years ago was just here, a blink of an eye away. Like 7 years was a blur. And I guess, in the big grand scheme of things, it isn't really that long.

Sometimes, though, it feels like forever. When I sit down and think about all of the things that have happened to me in the last decade (plus 365), I realize how wonderfully full my life has been. I've been places, done things. Fallen in love. Found new friends. Lost touch. Mourned. Renewed my Faith. Learned new things (every day). I bought my first car, became a homeowner, adopted animals, watched my family grow. Got married. Taught myself to cook. Read a lot of books...a LOT of books.

Started a blog. Wrote a book.

Found myself.

I know that most of my blogs are typically short, sweet and to the point (and always contain a yummy recipe for you to try), but tonight, I'm not going to do that. Tonight, I'll just give you a little food for thought (ya okay, a little cheesy).

The last two years of my life have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride - a lot of ups, a lot of downs, and even some crazy loops every now and then. I came to a point in my life where I was really, really NOT happy, and there came a time when I decided that instead of moping around and feeling sorry for myself, I had to take the reins and take the horse down a different path, so to speak. I quit my job, convinced that starting a career in my "field" was the answer to the emptiness that I was feeling in my everyday life. But while I certainly learned a lot about myself through that transition, there was still something missing.

Passion. Somewhere along the line, I'd lost mine. Somehow, I let routine and normalcy and "life" take over the person that I'd always wanted to be. Honestly, it's no wonder I was so unhappy.

When I think about where I am now compared to where I was then, I can't help but think that this blog saved my life. That may sound dramatic, but it's true. This blog forced me to remember the things I enjoy in life, to focus on those things instead of getting stuck in the daily rut of work and chores and bad television. To branch out, to teach myself, and to try new things. And, more than anything else, it allowed me to do the one thing that I've always wanted to do, that I've always loved to do: write.

When I penned the last word of the first draft of my novel back in November, I suddenly felt...different. Lighter. Happier. Accomplished. Truly, I felt empowered. I'd set out to do something I'd always wanted to do, and I DID IT. I actually, finally did it. And it didn't matter to me how long it took me to reach that point - because in the end, the time it took wasn't relevant. All that mattered was that I set a goal for myself and I got there. And now, I'm no longer controlled by the routine. By the rules that society puts in place for us. Now, I know that I can do anything I want to do. I may never make a dime off of my book. But you know what? I didn't do it for money. I didn't do it for fame.

I did it for myself. And I'm really proud of that.

I implore you to make 2013 your year to do something big for yourself. Set a goal and stick to it. It doesn't matter what it is, or why. It doesn't matter who you tell, if anyone. Because in the end, you'll know. And that's what matters. Your happiness is entirely in your own hands.

I hope you'll come back often this year to check out my recipes, party planning tips and entertaining ideas. As I've recently gone gluten free (that's a story for another day, since I've already given you a book in this post), I'll be posting GF recipes that I come up with as well as adaptations of recipes that I find in cookbooks and my favorite cooking magazines. I can't wait to share more fabulous food with you!

Until next time...

Cheers!