Top 10

What to make for dinner . . . the ongoing question.  I've been trying to be good about meal planning so I'm not faced with this dilemma every night but a couple of weeks ago, I asked my husband before he left for work what he wanted for dinner.  He said, "How about some scallops? And some arugula?"  I thought of a recipe from Cooking Light that I made a few years back and came up with some tweaks.  Instead of arugula, I bought a bag of baby kale from Trader Joe's instead and added the white beans and pancetta.  If you're not a kale fan, try baby spinach as a substitution.

Anyways, his idea and this dish turned out great.  So good, in fact, that my husband declared it one of the Top 10 meals.  I said, "top 10 that I've ever made?" and he said, "no, top 10 ever."  That is high praise from my husband!  I hope you like it as much as he did!  Another bonus (beside it being delicious and high in protein) is that it's really quick to the table so make sure you have everything ready to go when you start preparing the dish.

Scallops with wilted kale and white beans (serves 2)

1 pound scallops
1 cup chopped onion
4 oz diced pancetta
olive oil
1/4 tsp. red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c. dry white wine
1 c. chicken broth (I used low-sodium fat free)
1 (19 oz) can cannellini beans (or other white beans), rinsed and drained 
8-10 oz fresh baby kale leaves
2 T fresh basil, thinly sliced (chiffonade)

Brown the pancetta in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon.  
Sprinkle the scallops with salt. Add them to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add a little olive oil and the onion to the pan and saute for 2 minutes. Add pepper and garlic and cook for 20 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in wine and cook for 1 minute (most of the liquid will evaporate). Stir in broth, beans, the browned pancetta and cook for 2 minutes. Add kale; cook 1 minute or until wilted.  Remove from the heat. Stir in the basil.  Serve scallops over the kale mixture.