Grilled Scallop Skewers w/ grape tomato, boccocini and chick pea salad

I cribbed the recipe for the salad from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry, and I had some scallops kicking around the house, so I put this together.

Scallops (feeds 2)
Marinade about 10 medium scallops in the following for about an hour:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp garlic juice
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lime flavoured Red Hot sauce

While your scallops are marinading nicely, put in a big bowl:

• 1-19 oz can of chickpeas
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup mini boccocini, halved
• 1/3 cup chopped red onions
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil (must be fresh)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used lime, and it worked just as well)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix it all together and let sit for a while. Tomatoes can lose their flavour when refrigerated, so if you are going to let it sit for a long time (which I would, because oil/vinegar salads taste best if left to marinate for a while) don't add them until just before you serve it. Although, I threw it all together and let it all rest and it tasted great.

Thread scallops on a skewer and grill on bbq for about 3 minutes each side. Really, its the size of your scallops that dictates how long you grill it for. Look for them to get opaque and less "squishy".

Serve with french bread, and enjoy!

Oriental Shrimp a la Erin

1/4 cup, plus 2 tsp. Orange Juice
2 tsp. Cornstarch
1 tbl. Splenda
1 tbl. Black Beans; rinsed, drained and chopped
3 tbl. Rice Vinegar
2 tbl. Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Sesame Oil (olive works just fine)
1 tsp. chili pepper flakes (or more if you like it to burn)
1 med zucchini sliced into half-coins
1 cup sliced mushrooms
handful of green beans, sliced in half on the bias
3/4 lb. uncooked large Shrimp; fresh or frozen (thawed) peeled and deveined
2 Green Onions; sliced (2 tbl. spoons)


1. Mix 2 tsp. orange juice and the cornstarch, set aside
2. Mix 1/4 cup orange juice, sugar, black beans, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil & chili flakes in a small bowl
3. Spray skillet or wok with cooking spray, add zucchini, mushrooms and green beans. Saute for a few minutes.
4. Add the orange juice mixture, heat to boiling, add shrimp.
5. Stir fry 4 or 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm.
6. Stir in cornstarch mixture, cook and stir for about 1 min. or until thickened. Stir in onions.

Serve about 1/2 cup of the shrimp mixture over 1/2 cup of brown rice.

I am not sure what the nutritional info is on this, because I made some substitutions and added some stuff, but, there is nothing bad in this except for the oil.

Baked Chicken w/Peaches

For a delicious sauce to serve over the chicken and peaches, mix 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch with 1/2 cup cold water and pour mixture into cooking juices. This mixture will thicken and become a sauce to pour over the chicken and peaches."

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. 2. Place chicken in the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Place peach slices over chicken, then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, ginger, cloves, and lemon juice.3. Bake for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, basting often with juices, until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

I enjoyed this, although, Richie did not. He liked the chicken OK, but not so much the peaches. I got a piece with a bit too much clove on it, and it sorta made my tastebuds angry, but it was good.

Two kinds of pancakes in the world

Well, there are probably more than two, but in my estimation, there are two. There are the big fluffy fat ones, and there are the really thin ones. Also known as crepes. This recipe is for the fluffy fat ones, and its the shit: Super Fluffy Pancakes
(yields about 6 pancakes about 3.5" in diameter,
3WW points per pancake)

1 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp melted margarine

Sift together the dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix together the wet ingredients in another. Add the dry to the wet, mix well, but not too much. You know how to cook pancakes, right? I don't have to go over that do I? Hot pan, or griddle, etc? The batter will rise up and become thick in the bowl. I put sliced strawberries in mine (which was delish- the mild sweetness of the strawberries were complemented by the super-sweetness of the maple syrup); you can probably put any fruit you'd like into it. It's a hardy batter. It can take it.