Balsamic Glazed Scallops over Spaghetti Squash

Over dinner recently, my good friend Lisa was telling me about the amazing spaghetti squash pasta she made for her (very lucky) husband. She inspired me to try an ingredient I had not only barely ever eaten, let alone made at home! For some reason, scallops just seemed like the perfect protein to pair with the squash and I was excited to be cooking two new items for the first time. Lisa, you'd be proud, the dish came out de-li-cious!

Ingredients (makes 1 serving)

1 spaghetti squash

3 scallops

6 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees. With a fork, prick your spaghetti squash all over and then place in the oven for about an hour and a half until the skin is really soft. Some recipes will tell you to slice the squash open before you place it in the oven, but I found that IMPOSSIBLE to do, so just throw it whole.

Remove the squash and let it sit for ten minutes before cutting in half.

Scoop out the seeds and middle then spoon out the stringy spaghetti portion and set aside.

Rinse the scallops then toss with garlic and balsamic vinegar.

Heat up the olive oil and butter in a frying pan then sear the scallops for 3 minutes on each side.

When the scallops are cooked, set aside and toss in the rest of the balsamic vinegar and garlic, letting it simmer until the alcohol has dissolved and the sauce thickens.

Prepare something green to serve alongside the scallops and squash, because every meal should have something green in it! For this dish, I prepared some sauteed mixed kale with garlic.

Place the scallops over the spaghetti squash and drizzle with lots of the balsamic glaze. This dish will impress anyone, especially you, with how little effort and time went in to making it!

Blueberry Muffins

I've been baking. A lot. I have to say, cooking is a lot easier than baking because there's room for modification and experimentation. When it comes to baking, there's a recipe and you follow it. However, if you have the right recipes, baked goods can be pretty delicious. I had a bag of frozen blueberries on hand the other day and thought whole wheat blueberry muffins sounded interesting and difficult to screw up. I was right. With the addition of some lemon zest and sour cream, these muffins were tangy and delicious!

Ingredients

5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees and using butter to grease your muffin tins.

Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well, followed by the sour cream and lemon zest. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt separately then add into the mixture, little by little, combining with the mixer until well-incorporated. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Scoop the mixture into the muffin tin, filling about 3/4 of the way up. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the muffins have browned on top.

Let them cool and enjoy with a cup of coffee for breakfast!