Garlic and Parmesan Pasta with Bay Scallops

  Looks like it's my turn to write the blog post for the day. And before you say "Hey, I thought this was for people / couples on a budget!" Keep in mind that the scallops were given to us, so no charge there. And now...for the list of ingredients.

The scallops cooking with butter and
 garlic before adding the noodles

Ingredients:
1 Stick of Butter (That's right, Paula!)
1 Pound of Scallops (We used bay scallops, but regular scallops or shrimp would work, too)
Parmesan Cheese (The kind that comes in the shaker)
Enough spaghetti for 2 people
Garlic
Pepper
A pinch of salt (For the pasta)
As you can see, this would make Paula proud. We tried to use 3/4 of a stick of butter, but needed a bit more. With the extra, it came out perfect! =)

Ronnie stirring the scallops, step 7. 

1.) Boil a pot of water, then toss the pasta in. Add the salt
2.) In a separate pan, melt the stick of butter on medium until it forms a liquid and starts to bubble. You'll need to stir it to keep it moving, and so it doesn't get burned.
3.) Add the garlic into the butter. As you can see from the picture...we like garlic. =)
4.) Stir the butter for 1 minute, so it has a chance to soak up the garlicky goodness.
5.) Add about 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. This will give the butter an even more wonderful flavor, and a good bath for the scallops.
6.) Drain and put the scallops into the garlic butter mixture. Sprinkle a little pepper on the scallops and butter. We didn't add salt, because there was plenty of garlic in the mixture.
7.) Make sure you stir them, so they don't get too done on one side. The butter should begin to froth up and make a cream. Around that time, the scallops will start to turn white, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Step 8

8.) When they are just about finished, drain the pasta, and put it into the pan with the butter and scallops. Use a spoon or tongs to move them around, making sure to coat the pasta with the butter sauce.
9.) Instead of using something like corn starch to thicken it, we decided to use more Parmesan cheese...about 3-4 tablespoons more. ;)
10.) Turn the burner off, plate it, add a little more cheese to the top, and eat!

The Cats really wanted to try some, sorry kitties. 

Ashley does not like cooking with fish, so I did most of the cooking for this one. However, once it's cooked...she has no problem digging in. Bonn apatite!

--Ronnie

What kind of stuff do you like adding to your pasta?