Sherried Sea Scallops w Mushrooms & Peppers

An easy 30-minute dinner that is healthy, sensuous and delicious! With sauteed mushrooms, onion, garlic, sweet peppers, peas and sea scallops as the lovely gems that top it all off, this dish is delightful served over cauliflower polenta, rice, or mashed potatoes. It’s the perfect dish for a romantic evening … or for an easy meal for yourself.

One night I found myself starving, at home alone, and in dire need of a quick, easy meal. I knew I had some mushrooms in my fridge and some sea scallops in my freezer and wondered if the two would go together well?

I rummaged through the fridge for a bit for something else to go with them and found a couple mini sweet peppers from the veggie drawer, grabbed a bit of onion and fresh garlic (which I ALWAYS try to have on hand) and started cooking. Really I wasn’t trying to create a masterpiece so much as I was just eager to EAT and I knew scallops were quick to cook (aside from the fact that I just adore them). I was too hungry to measure or to even care how much of ANYTHING I put in the pan. I was just throwing something quick together so I could EAT.

I grabbed the bottle of sherry from my counter that has honestly been there for a while … how long does sherry keep? I didn’t care … I was just hungry and my pan needed a little liquid. A splash of sherry did the trick. But then when I added the (still frozen) scallops, the liquid in the pan seemed too thin, so I thickened it with a bit of cornstarch. Ah, yes, finally! It had only been maybe 15 minutes since I started cooking, but I was super excited that I could EAT! I gobbled it all down without even thinking of taking photos. After I’d gobbled it all down, I realized my mistake. THIS was definitely a blog-worthy recipe! Why hadn’t I stopped to take pictures? Or measure anything?

Which of course meant that I’d have to subject myself to this marvelous dish at least one more time (oh poor me! LOL), in daylight hours, when I could properly measure everything and take photos for you, my sweet foodie friends. AND I had to make some cauliflower polenta to go with it, because I just knew in my heart it would be marvelous over cauliflower polenta . (Oh it definitely was!) This time I tossed in some frozen peas, because it needed a little something green and peas are good and so easy to pull out of the freezer and besides they help lower your cholesterol. The amount of peppers I used this time was more, I think, than I used last time, so don’t think you have to measure everything out carefully … the recipe is VERY adjustable. Toss in more of what you have or what you like and less of what you don’t like. If you are serving this for date night and have a hungry man (or other hefty eater) to feed, you might want to toss in more scallops to up the scallops/veggie ratio.

Whatever you do, get your taste buds ready for some love. Scallops have long been touted as an aphrodisiac since the times of the ancient Greeks after Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was carried to earth on a scallop shell. Today there is scientific evidence to back up the claim–scallops really do hold the potential to raise the sex hormone levels in both men and women, plus (when cooked properly), scallops have a soft, voluptuous feeling in your mouth. Scallops are also a great source of lean protein, plus important nutrients including Vitamin B12, magnesium, potassium, selenium, zinc and copper.

However, be aware that, depending on their environment, scallops may accumulate heavy metals like mercury, which can be harmful to your health, so eat in moderation, especially if you tend to eat a lot of fish or seafood.

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The sea scallops I bought from Aldi show 80 calories for a 4-oz. serving on the nutrition information on the bag, but many of the scallops in the recipe analyzer I used showed a much higher calorie count for different brands of scallops (as much as 200 calories for a 4-oz. serving). I adjusted the amount so it was just 80 calories for the scallops, but actual nutrients and calories may vary. This nutrition analysis assumes you are eating half the recipe for one serving, although if you are really hungry (like I was the first time), it’s quite easy to gobble up the entire recipe on your own!