Shrimp and Scallops with Wine and Vegatables

Before I begin, let me just say that this Betty Crocker chic knows a lot of recipes. If I wasn't already engaged, I'd be inclined to hit on her.

Speaking of being engaged, my fiance Tracey suggested we try this recipe. All I had to do was go get the supplies, prep the shrimp and vegetables, cook it and serve it. She helped me peel the shrimp while telling me how much faster she is at it than I am. I'll assume she peeled more than half of them. Is there nothing she can't do? That's how we began. Then she had to leave the house for a bit, so I went solo from there.

Once the shrimp is peeled, you can pop it in the fridge for a bit, 'cause you won't need it right away.

Gather up all your ingredients and measuring instruments, and heat the oil on medium in the skillet. Cook the garlic, onions carrots and parsley about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are crisp-tender.

I was worried that I wouldn't slice the carrots thin enough. If they were too thick, I thought, it would ruin the texture of the dish. So I got the sharpest knife in my arsenal and carefully sliced about a half of a carrot very thinly before I got tired of it. Then I found a slicer in the drawer. I tried it, and it seemed to slice the carrot thinly enough. I saved a lot of time, too. Got really fast at it. There were literally carrot slices flying all over the kitchen. It's a shame I only needed two carrots. I was having so much fun I would've sliced carrots for the neighbors if they needed any. I did, however, slice the green onions by hand.

In my house, the green onions need to go through an additional step before they go into the frying pan. See, Tracey doesn't like the texture of onion chunks, so I ground them up in a mortar and pestle. That way, she can still enjoy the flavor. Then I had to get the onion smell out of the mortar and pestle. Lemon juice seemed to do the trick, but the lady at the store where I bought it suggested baking soda and vinegar.

Getting back to the recipe, once your carrots are crisp-tender, add the shrimp, scallops, and the rest of the ingredients. I didn't have to cut my scallops in half, because I didn't use sea scallops. The grocery store didn't have a pound of them in the cooler, so I had to buy the smaller bay scallops.

Cook the dish another 5 minutes or so, until the shrimp are pink and the scallops are opaque, stirring almost constantly.

I had everything ready to go when Tracey got back home, then just tossed in the shrimp and scallops at the last minute. We both thought it tasted great. I only used 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper. That seemed to be plenty. I also opted for the white wine over the chicken broth, and the parsley flakes as opposed to the fresh parsley. There's a riddle about parsley in my book. You should read it.