I had a not-so-pleasant experience with frozen scallops several years ago. I don’t remember where they were from, but they were chewy and overly fishy. The smell in the kitchen lingered for days. I vowed never again to use them, and always went with fresh from then on out. However, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to give these frozen scallops from Lidl a try. My mom had gotten them months ago. They sat in the freezer…and sat…and sat. I kept thinking about that previous experience. Thankfully these would not suffer the same fate—they were delicious!

After thawing them in the fridge for a few hours and finishing them off with cold running water, they were ready to be cooked. I seared them for two minutes on each side, removed them, and then made a quick blush marinara sauce using jarred Priano sauce from Aldi which I added a splash of cream, crushed red pepper, and fresh garlic to. Served over linguine. This was a restaurant-worthy meal in minutes…and for far less money.