Pasta with Scallops, Shrimp, Basil and a White Wine Sauce

12:04 AM ByFiled UnderMain Dishes, Mouthwatering Monday, Recipes

This pasta is one of those dishes, I had the ingredients; I wanted something to eat… we made this.

Y’all know that I always have at least 3 boxes of Barilla Pasta Plus in the pantry; if you aren’t eating it yet…. You have no idea what you’re missing out on. There’s always parmesan cheese, bacon and garlic in my house and this week, I happened to buy fresh scallops, shrimp, white wine and basil.  I’m not sure what I had in mind but, I knew I wanted something and those flavors were calling to me.  So, this pasta was born.

I chopped some bacon and got it sizzling in a pan, then I added 1 clove of chopped garlic and cooked them for 3 or 4 minutes; stirring occassionally.

While this was cooking, I chopped the basil.  Easiest way to do this: roll the basil leaves up into a ‘tube’ and chop

At this point; the garlic and bacon are sizzling and the aroma is such that you want to grab a wooden spoon, scoop it onto a piece of toast and devour.  Hold off, it gets better.

Grab a bottle of white wine, make sure it’s something you’d drink; it doesn’t have to be expensive.. the rule with alcohol and cooking is if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it. (if you don’t drink.. you could use a veggie or chicken broth)

Add about two cups of white wine, 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp (y’all know I love my spice) of crushed red pepper to the bacon garlic mix and set to simmer.

Start your pasta water boiling and then cook your pasta.

When your pasta has about 6 minutes left, add the scallops and shrimp to your sauce pan and cook, stirring frequently until shrimp is pink.

Now for the fun part, toss the pasta and sauce/scallops/shrimp mixture together.. add in basil leaves and divide into bowls.  This made 4 servings for us.

Grate fresh parmesan, top with fresh ground pepper and serve.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 box Barilla pasta plus rotini
  • 1 lb shrimp
  • 1/2 lb scallops
  • 3 slices bacon, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • dash to 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 C white wine or broth (i would use less broth as it tends to be overpowering)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • grated parmesan (I just grate until it’s covered and then toss to make it all melty ooey gooey nom nom nom)
  • 8 fresh basil leaves ‘ish’
  1. chop bacon, sautee until sizzling.. add garlic and simmer about 3 to 4 minutes
  2. Chop basil
  3. Add wine to bacon garlic mixture, add in some red pepper and set to simmer
  4. Cook pasta, while pasta is cooking.. rinse shrimp and scallops
  5. When the pasta has 6 minutes left; add shrimp and scallops to wine mixture and cook until the shrimp are pink
  6. Remove pasta and drain; toss with shrimp and scallop mixture; put into bowls, toss with basil and top with fresh grated parmesan and fresh ground pepper to taste.
  7. Serve with white wine and fresh garlic bread….. play with these ingredients, add tomatoes or sliced red peppers;  enjoy your food.

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Honey Chipotle Glazed Salmon

6:52 AM ByFiled UnderMain Dishes, Mouthwatering Monday

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I love the sweet hot bite of the honey chipotle chicken crispers at Chili’s and I was wondering how I could incorporate it into our menu, but healthier so I came up with this recipe for Honey Chipotle Glazed Salmon and I am sooo excited to share it with y’all for today’s Mouthwatering Monday.

  • 1 large salmon fillet, cut in 1/2 or 2 (8 to 10 oz fillets)
  • 1/4 C olive oil
  • Juice from one medium size lime
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp adobo sauce
  • 1/4 C honey
  1. Whisk together olive oil, garlic, 1 chopped chipotle pepper and lime juice. Place salmon in a dish and coat with the olive oil mixture, marinate for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature.
  2. Remove the salmon from the mixture and cook it in a medium-high heat skillet, that has been lightly drizzled with olive oil.
  3. While the salmon is cooking, mix the honey and adobo sauce and 1 chopped chipotle in a bowl and set aside.
  4. Cook the salmon about 7 minutes on each side, until the salmon is opaque on the sides and flakes with a fork.
  5. Remove the salmon to a plate and then drizzle with the honey chipotle mixture.

The salmon is moist, flaky, sweet and spicy and absolutely tonguegasmic!

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Tonguegasmic Salmon and Feta Pasta

8:00 AM ByFiled UnderMain Dishes, Mouthwatering Monday

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Tonguegasmic.  That is the only word for this dish that I am absolutely delighted with!  The flavor profile and ease of this pasta ensure that this one is going to be a frequent visitor in our home.

Let me tell you why this pasta is so amazing, the basil adds just a hint of mint, the peppers add a nice light undertone of spice and the salmon and garlic are a beautiful blend. The grape tomatoes give this dish a surprising burst of roasted sweetness each time you come across one, and the herb Feta.. oh. my. stars. it got all warm and savory and mmmmmmm. I’m drooling just thinking about it. I’m tellin’ y’all, you have to try this. It’s not often that I go into something skeptically and come out a believer.. but y’all…. Nathan ate two huge helpings and I finished off one bowl and then went and nipped a few more bites out of the serving dish. It’s even good served cold for lunch the next day! NOM NOM

First, I bought this Farfalle pasta because I like the 3 colors, plus Farfalle is just fun to say:

Rachel’s Salmon Pasta

  • 2 fresh salmon fillets, roughly 12 oz (frozen works too)
  • a few dashes salt (to taste)
  • 10 oz farfalle pasta, or whatever kind floats your boat
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • roughly 15 to 20 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 C chopped green onions.
  • 3- 4 Tbsp snipped fresh basil leaves (yes, it must be fresh)
  • 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • couple of handfuls of fresh spinach leaves
  • a few drizzles olive oil, you choose how much to use
  • 1 4 oz. package crumbled feta cheese. ( I use a garlic and herb blend)

How To:

  1. Cook pasta according to package.
  2. Drain, drizzle with olive oil, cover and set aside. Make sure this stays warm.
  3. Meanwhile, drizzle olive oil into a medium high heat pan and toss in about 1/2 of the minced garlic cloves.
  4. Cook for about a minute or until the aroma becomes very strong and the garlic starts to soften.
  5. Sprinkle the salmon with salt
  6. Add the salmon to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Turn the fish occasionally while cooking. Stir in the tomatoes, the rest of the garlic, onions, basil and peppers. Heat through, stirring occasionally. Right before you think you’re done, toss in the spinach leaves just and heat them just enough so they start to wilt. In a large bowl toss together the hot pasta, some olive oil and the salmon mixture. Top with the feta cheese.

And to steal a page from one of my favoritest foodies ever, Noble Pig, I recommend serving this with a fabulous Chardonnay, like Lindemann’s

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