Scallops shine in easy, 20-minute meal

Fresh sea scallops served with a colorful Vegetable Medley Rice makes a quick dinner that only takes 20 minutes to complete. Scallops, which need very little cooking, should be prepared so that the inside remains creamy. Prolonged cooking will shrink and toughen them.

Sliced fresh onions, red bell pepper and mushrooms are available in most produce sections of the supermarket. Using these cuts down on your prep time and the rice can be made in 10 minutes.

Helpful Hints:

• Scallops should smell sweet, should not be sitting in liquid and show no browning when purchased.
• You can find sliced fresh onion in the produce section of the supermarket.
• You can find diced fresh bell peppers in the produce section of the supermarket.
• Saute the vegetables in a skillet and remove. Use the same skillet to cook the scallops.

Pan-seared Scallops

Yield 2 servings. Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

3/4 pound fresh scallops

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon dried chives

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rinse scallops in cool water, drain, pat dry with paper towel and set aside. Heat oil in the nonstick skillet used for the vegetables over high heat. When smoking, add scallops and sauté over 1 minute, turn and saute 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle chives over scallops.

Vegetable Medley Rice

Yield 2 servings. Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

1 package microwaveable brown rice (for 1 cup cooked)

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup fresh sliced onion

1 cup fresh diced red bell pepper

1 cup sliced mushrooms,

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook rice according to package instructions and measure 1 cup cooked rice.

Meanwhile, mix yogurt and horseradish together in a medium-size bowl. Add cooked rice to bowl. Set aside. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, red bell pepper and mushrooms. Saute 5 minutes. Add to the bowl with the rice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss well.