Both scallops and deveined shrimp were on sale, so I bought a half pound of each. Now what to make?  Time was of the essence so I searched via Google for shrimp stir-fry recipes. Rachel Ray’s 4 Minute Spicy Garlic Shrimp came up and sounded tasty.

Okay, I could easily adapt the recipe to include both shrimp and scallops. Whizz-bang- It was so easy and quick and what a winner! The garlic adds pungent flavor and smells of intrigue. If you care for a hotter, more fiery dish, add additional red pepper flakes.

Debi’s 5 Minute Spicy Shrimp and Scallops

(with thanks to Rachael Ray)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or enough to coat pan
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed fine or minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 24 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails in tact (I used a total of 1 pound)
• 2 teaspoons grill seasoning blend
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I had to substitute dried but fresh would be better.)

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. 
2. Add extra-virgin olive oil and turn around pan. 
3. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, shrimp and scallops. 
4. Season with grill seasoning or salt and pepper. 
5. Cook about 3-4 minutes until just pink. 
6. Toss with lemon zest, juice and parsley.

I served this with grocery made mashed potatoes and fresh sugar snap peas. Nom nom!

In case you are wondering, the word “nom” was added to the New Oxford Dictionary in 2010– coming directly from Cookie Monster‘s mouth.

nom nom (informal) exclamation an expression of delight when eating.

plural noun (nom noms) delicious food.

verb (nom-nom) eat delicious food with obvious enjoyment.

adjective (nom-nommy) descriptive of delicious food.

origin — imitative; popularized by the noises made by the character Cookie Monster on Sesame Street (usually as “Om nom nom nom”)

Read this and other food blog articles posted on Wanderfood Wednesdays.