Chicken and Orzo

So I noticed a particularly boring (for you) trend in my cooking lately. I have been using my own blog as a source for recipes. It may look like I haven't been cooking at all recently, but really I've just been coming on here to find something I can make for dinner!

To jump start the search for some new recipes, I asked Jason what he would like to eat for dinner this week. Anything. The most exotic thing he's always wanted to try. I told him to imagine he was at a fancy restaurant and could have anything he wanted. His response? Pasta. As I couldn't come up with anything better on my own, I went to the library and took out Company's Coming 'Low Fat Pasta'.

This evening, I tried Chicken And Orzo:

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced paper thin (I used 2 and I don't think I have the proper equipment to cut raw chicken PAPER thin but I did my best without another trip to the emergency room)

2 garlic cloves, minced (I didn't have any! I sprinkled a bit of garlic powder in the mix though)

1tsp olive oil

284mL condensed chicken broth (I just sprinkled some chicken broth powder I have in some water)

1cup water

1tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 medium carrot, cut julienne

1cup uncooked orzo

1 small zucchini, cut julienne

1 medium red pepper, sliced (You know how I feel about red peppers. I used orange instead)

Stir fry chicken and garlic in oil in large nin-stick skillet or wok for 5 minutes until chicken is almost cooked. Add next 5 ingredients. Cover. Simmer for 10 minutes Stir in zucchini and red (orange) pepper. Cover. Cook for 5 minutes until pasta is tender and liquid is absorbed.

JASON'S REVIEW: It tickled from my tummy down to my toes (??). It was also tasty.

MY REVIEW: This was great! Made just enough for 2 lunches and 2 dinners. Would make it again.

Vegetable Orzo

I made the turkey from last week (2 weeks ago? who knows). It was delicious as I knew it would be. I tried a new recipe to go along with it. I found a great recipe to follow on Recipe Zaar . I didn't follow it exactly so I'll just write it up as I made it:


3 cups homemade chicken broth
1 1/2 cups dried orzo pasta
1tbsp margerine
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium shallot chopped
3 big mushrooms, chopped
some cut up asparagus
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 fresh garlic clove, finely minced
fresh spinach (a generous handful)
salt and pepper
1/2 fresh lemon


So first I sauteed all the veggies (minus spinach) in the margarine until they were soft. As I was doing that, I had the orzo and chicken broth bubbling away. I didn't have to drain it which was done. All the flavor was sucked in. I mixed the orzo and vegetables together, added a squirt of lemon. This is when I threw in the spinach and the steam from the mixture helped wilt them. Then I ATE IT and it was great.

MY REVIEW: This was dee-licious. Good thing it made tonnes so there's plenty for lunches and dinner again tomorrow!

JASON'S REVIEW: He's not home yet - check back for an update.

Tandoori Chicken OR Tofu with Saffron Orzo

For my dinner, I marinated some cut up tofu in yogurt, garlic and tandoori spices last night. I added that to a stirfry with broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini and chickpeas. To go with this - some orzo with saffron in it. Delicious!
For Jason's dinner, I marinated some chicken breast in the same marinade last night and cooked it up for him. It was happily devoured.

MY REVIEW: Delicious - I love my tandoori spice. Didn't even miss the chicken. My tofu was delicious.

JASON'S REVIEW: He really liked it - wants more tandoori spice next time!