Tricks of the Trade

The Situation:  You're pet's collar has become pretty bedraggled.  You need to get Fido or Fluffy a new one.  "But it's such a pain to remove their ID tags," you moan mentally. "I always break a fingernail."

A Solution:   Pick up the staple remover and apply it to the crack in the key ring and slide the new object onto the old ring.  This should work with all key rings.

The Situation:  Richie and I love bacon-wrapped sea scallops with a daub of orange marmalade.  I know Trader Joe's sells a box of 12 in the frozen section.  But buying a bunch of scallops and using the bacon already in your kitchen to make your own is cheaper.   

But:  It takes forever for the bacon to cook (oven, 400 degrees) and while it's cooking it's leaving great smears of tarry black on the aluminum foil you lined the pizza pan to cook them.  The scallops stick to the foil and resist being flipped.  (And you'll have this problem with Trader Joe's, too.)

A Solution:  Take a slice of bacon, cut in half or thirds and saute it in a frying pan.  While that's going on, remove the muscle from the scallops (one of our cats loves them) and dry the scallops with a paper towel. 

When the bacon is done, set it aside to drain on a paper towel and put the scallops in the hot skillet.  Brown both sides of the scallops and put them on a serving dish.  Add about 1 T marmalade to the empty skillet and stir, then dress the scallops with the sauce.  Crumble the bacon and sprinkle over the scallops.  No muss, no fuss.