cheesy pasta with scallops

i love scallops but i'm usually too scared to cook them because the chances of me overcooking them are very very high! i was doing my rounds through trader joes and found some bay scallops in the frozen section so i decided it was time to conquer those fears!! and what better to go with scallops then some yummy pasta and a cheese sauce of some sorts? :)

i don't go rogue when it comes to soups...but i did when it came to my white sauce! i love sauces like alfredo--but i don't like the fat and calories! so, the only other option was to come up with my own version! i did a little research (read: allrecipes and foodnetwork.com) and then came up with a concoction that in my head worked out. luckily, it did in reality too!

i chopped up some turkey bacon (side note i am going with the real thing next time) and threw that it in a sauce pan with olive oil and got that going for a bit before throwing in some garlic. after a little bit the bacon started sticking to the pan and i started freaking out cause, well, everything is sticking! but then i slowly added in a little chicken broth which took care of the sticky bits and helped bring the garlic and bacon together.



after another minute, i added in some low-fat milk that i stirred a little corn starch into to help thicken up the mixture. after i got the milk going a little, i stirred in a cup of parmesan cheese. yummmmm! you wanna make sure you turn the heat down so it's simmering while you do it. as the mixture continued to thicken, i threw in some peas and then eventually the scallops towards the end so they wouldn't cook too much longer.



finally, i tossed the linguine i had cooked prior in the sauce with tongs and it was ready to go! this dish was so easy and i'd like to think a lot healthier than the other white sauces you find out there. this will definitely be a go-to whenever i'm feeling lazy.