Scallop Pasta!

Today I opened the freezer and saw the bag of scallops I bought from Target the other day, and decided that whatever I cooked tonight, it would feature scallops. Which I have NEVER cooked with before.

So when cooking time came, I looked up scallop recipes to see what matched the ingredients I had in stock, and found this, which I modified:

Ingredients:
6 ounces uncooked vermicelli, broken in thirds
(I used angel hair and didn't break it.)
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
(I didn't measure the salt.)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
(I didn't measure the paprika.)
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
(For some reason, I rarely add pepper to anything.)
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
(I didn't measure the garlic powder.)
1 pound sea scallops, rinsed and patted dry
(I don't know how much sea scallops I actually used.)
1 tablespoon butter, divided
(I used 4 tbsp butter. And some olive oil. Ha!)
Cooking spray
(See above. No cooking spray needed.)
1/4 cup water
(See above. No water needed.)
1 1/2 cup thinly sliced spinach leaves
(I didn't measure the spinach.)
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
(I didn't measure the lemon rind.)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
(I didn't measure the fresh lemon juice.)
4 lemon wedges
(I didn't include lemon wedges.)

I added some cut up prosciutto.

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

Meanwhile, sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt, paprika, pepper, and garlic powder evenly over scallops.

Heat half the butter in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add half the scallops to pan; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until done, turning once. Remove scallops; set aside and keep warm. Repeat with remaining butter and scallops.

Add water to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Remove from heat; add pasta, spinach, lemon rind, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss gently. Divide evenly among individual serving plates. Top with scallops; serve immediately with lemon wedges.

I followed the directions as general guidelines, and combined everything in the end and guess what. It was HEAVEN. It was soooooooo good. So good in fact that this will now become a family staple. In the future, I think I will also throw in a few capers, and some artichoke hearts, just for good measure.

No pictures, but I promise you. This is worth trying out! Dinner was ready in about as long as it took for the water to boil and the pasta to cook.