Bay Scallops + Asparagus in a Lemon Pepper Parmesan Sauce
Great dinner tonight!! Bay scallops were on sale yesterday so we changed the meal plan accordingly. And asparagus is making its way to the shelves! Yay for springtime! We added in some frozen peas to keep the spring theme going. This dinner looks fancy but it literally took 15 minutes to throw everything together.
First we got 3 oz of dry whole wheat penne cooking and the asparagus trimmed and under the broiler.
Then we seared 1/2 a pound of bay scallops in 2 tsp of olive oil, turning when they were nice and brown, adding a handful of thawed frozen peas near the end of cooking.
In the meantime, we grated some fresh parmesan and combined 1 tbsp flour and 3 fl. oz of milk in a small pot with some pepper, heating on low and stirring until it thickened.
After about 8 minutes, we drained the pasta and removed the asparagus from the broiler and cut it into bite size pieces.
Toss everything but sauce together and squeeze on fresh lemon juice and lemon pepper seasoning.
Plate, and top pasta with sauce.
It was quite delicious!! We ate too fast. It was hard to put our forks down.
From above –
Each portion was about 414 kcal, 10 grams fiber and 35 grams of protein.
Prep Day
In true Robin Miller style, I used some free time today to prep for a busy week. With the husband headed back to work, we’ll have to be more organized about our meals. I hardboiled some eggs, made a batch of steel cut oats and made my first try at oat bran pancakes (the same as oatmeal but with oat bran instead.) Here’s the line-up on the stove:
The oat bran pancakes turned out nice – kind of like cornmeal texture and taste and not as sweet as oatmeal. I split the middle one with the husband for a snack. My batch was 1/2 a cup of oat bran (240 kcal), 1/2 cup egg whites and a splash of hemp milk. It made about 6.5 pancakes, about 50 kcal each. Perfect for a pre-workout snack topped with a little PB&J! They’re in the freezer waiting for me.
I also soaked a big bag of navy and pinto beans yesterday and simmered them on the stove today for about an hour. They are DELICIOUS and that’s without seasonings!!! I just love beans. The hardest thing about making beans from scratch is soaking them. And there’s nothing hard about soaking beans!!! Just put a bag of beans under water in a big bowl or pot for 24 hours in your pantry or laundry room. When you’re ready to cook, drain the water, cover the beans with fresh, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low until they are no longer hard.
And for $0.79 you get a TON of beans – literally! We’re using these in a soup tomorrow and another recipe on Wednesday, but I’ll be eating them for lunch too!
Around 5:00 I had a bowl of cereal – Kashi H2H plus a weetabix biscuit plus 2 honey graham sticks with hemp milk. I think cereal is the BEST application of hemp milk! And some Good Earth tea.
So that was my Sunday!! I also got some Physiology done, vacuumed the house, folded clean bedding, swept the kitchen floor, among other things, and am now going up to take a bath, exchange back massages(!!), and read Eat, Pray, Love until I’m tired or 9:30 – whichever comes first!
Kelly T says
awww, kath- you did my pet peeve….you dont “literally” get a ton of beans.
ill forgive you this time…
Annie says
That is the skinniest asparagus Ive ever seen! Does it taste any different then the regular, stalky asparagus?
the husband says
Kelly T,
Me too! The comedian David Cross has a funny bit about that…
Kath says
Kelly and Hub,
SORRY!!! I literally overuse the word every day 😉
Annie,
Tastes the same. Is the same. Maybe just a little diff. texture. It’s like eating a small apple vs. a large one!
Kath
Ana says
kath-did you buy your wheatabix biscuits online? b/c i have been looking everywhere for them in knoxville and haven’t had any luck!
VeggieGirl says
Oh my goodness, those oatbran pancakes look amazing!
Wow, you certainly had a busy, productive Sunday – hope tomorrow goes just as well for you! :0)
Betsy says
kath
i love how you cook thinking about budgets and saving money!! and buy lots of things on sale. Its incredibly important to me too so I love hearing about you guys always thinking about budget. thanks!
Kiala says
Hell must have frozen over because I just showed this to Dane and he said he would eat it. That he would eat something with asparagus in it. AND SEAFOOD.
Thank you both.
Emma says
Kath! You inspired me to make my very own pumpkin cake! It was super yummy and my very first-go at buying the canned filling! Thanks for introducing an amazing treat!
by the way…i know i read scallops…but I looked at the picture and definitely thought garbanzo beans! (I was like hmm… but where are they? they aren’t listed!)
bev says
My son’s teacher said….Organization is the key to success. You are right on. One question, I have wheat bran . Do you think I could use this instead of oat bran? Thanks Kath for the oatmeal video. I have made it many times and it’s good to know exactly how the process is.
Julia says
Kath how long do you boil your eggs for? And do you boil they water first and then put the egg in, or do you put the egg in before?
rachel k says
kath
i love reading about how you guys plan ahead with your meals. how do you pick out your recipes? do you craft them around what you find at the store? or do you plan the meals then do the shopping?
i know you’re already overloaded with work–but someday when you have time it would be really helpful to have a section about budgeting, meal planning, organizing menus etc….you seem to have lots of good ideas.
have a wonderful week!
Andrea says
i officially wish you were my personal chef!! everything you make looks fantastic
Romina says
Gosh I just love how fast it is to make pasta! That sauce sound really delicious.
Those pancakes look really yummy! And they sound super healthy, something you can’t deny.
Becca says
I love that you made an oat bran version of the pancakes! I always have oat bran instead of oatmeal so I’ve been toying around with that idea for a while since the oatmeal pancakes look so good!
Robin says
Thanks Kath…..makes A LOT more sense now. One last question, after you get you calculate your net, since you eat below maintance does that mean you subtract from your net as well? I don’t know how you figured this all out on your own!
Lauren T. says
OH! that reminds me of something i’ve wanted to ask! Does ANYONE have any tips on the best way to boil and peel eggs for best peel-age results??
hk says
boil eggs: I usually let the water come to a rolling boil and boil eggs for about 6-8 minutes. Drain the hot water from the pot and then shock the boiled eggs in cold water (careful not to burn yourself!). Shocking the eggs in cold water makes them so so so much easier to peel. Store in the refrigerator and ENJOY!
NC says
lol I was so right on about your your secret ingredient!
EatwellBewell says
Wow that dinner looks absolutely delicious! I am definitely trying that. I’m studying abroad in Italy, and I have no doubt that this dish will be a top favorite with the locals 🙂
on another note Kath or anyone who knows the answer: yesterdays grocery list included dried beans…usually I get mine canned. Is there a benefit to buying dried beans over canned (nutrition? money? etc) Thanks!
Erin says
I’m studying abroad in Ireland right now and they LOVE Weetabix over here! It’s everywhere!
sarah says
kath —
i think you should write a cookbook 🙂 i would buy it!
Becky A. says
I put eggs in cold water, and then let the water come to a boil. After about a minute, I cut the heat and cover the pot. After 15 minutes, they are perfect. Sometime I just let them sit in the water for a while….I don’t think you can over cook hard boiled eggs, and I HATE when the yolk is not fully, pale-yellow cooked-it grosses me out. Then when you are ready to peel them, run them under cold water and tap the shells til they crack. The water helps loosen the peels and they should come right off.
Kath says
Ana,
I buy my Weetabix at Harris Teeter and have seen them around. Do you have a natural foods or health foods store? The website might have a store locater too.
Betsy,
I’m glad to know it’s helpful – I’ll try to keep including tips!
Emma,
Glad the pumpkin cake was tasty! You know, garbanzo beans would have been great in the recipe anyways – good idea!
Bev,
I agree on organization! In academics, work, eating, exercise, household management – it’s NEVER a bad idea!
I haven’t seen wheat bran in person so I’m not sure of the texture, but if it’s a “hot cereal” I bet you could. You could probably use any small grain hot cereal.
Julia,
I met Food Network Chef Sara Moulton two fall’s ago for work and she told me that Julia Child told her to cover eggs in cold water, heat until the water is JUST at a boil, remove from heat, cover, and time 13 minutes. After 13 on the dot, remove from water and cool. I’ve been doing that and it seems to work fine!
Rachel,
There’s some info in the FAQs on my meal planning, but I basically collect recipe ideas from magazines, bloggers, and what I’m craving and put them in my Google calendar. Sometimes a few weeks in advance (I’ll schedule a labor-intensive meal for a free Saturday in the future). That way when it’s time to make a grocery list I already know what I’m craving. Sometimes we have to adjust for sales and what not, but it’s not a huge deal to swap pork for chicken.
Robin,
I’m still -300 or so from my maintenance amount. If I see myself losing more, I might reduce that to -200, or gaining some (because special events are coming too quickly to keep up with the deficit) I might go back to -400 like I was during weight loss. I’ve never been able to do -500 from maintenance because that’s too much for my small body and I’d be hungry. Does that help? Feel free to send me an email if you’re still confused.
NC,
I had NO idea how you knew that but I’m guessing since you’re a NC girl you looked up the Harris Teeter specials!?
EatWell,
Here’s what I wrote on canned vs. dried a few weeks ago:
When you soak the beans yourself you don’t have the added sodium of the canned beans (you can rinse them but there’s still lots absorbed into the beans) and they are much cheaper dry than canned. I think our bag made like 10 cups as was $0.79 and that would be at least 3-4 cans at $1 each (unless you find that on sale too). I think they taste better made from scratch too! 🙂
Kath