MONDAY RECIPE POST - ONE-POT CREAMY CHICKEN ORZO

This pasta dish was excellent and we were very happy with the way it turned out. I found it at a food blog called Kitchn and Yasmin Fahr was this recipe's author.  My thanks to Yasmin for an excellent dish.  This will be very nice to serve up for company, when things finally return to normal.  We are still very much in a wait and see mode, like many of our friends. 

One-Pot Creamy Chicken Orzo

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for serving

1 pound dried orzo

Kosher salt

4 1/4 cups water, divided (4 cups for cooking the orzo and 1/4 cup for later) 

1 pint grape tomatoes (about 2 cups), halved

4 cups baby spinach (about 4 ounces)

1-1/2 to 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken (from 1/2 rotisserie chicken)

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat until it gets hot.

Add 1 pound orzo, season lightly with kosher salt and cook, stirring constantly until toasted, about 1 minute.

Add 4 cups of the water and season with salt.

Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the orzo is al dente and most of the water is absorbed, about 7 minutes.  You might need to lower the heat because we found that even with stirring, the orzo started to stick to the bottom of the pan, but don't turn it so low that it takes it off the boil.

Meanwhile, halve 1 pint grape tomatoes (about 2 cups).  Halving them prevents that hot liquid inside the tomato from burning you when you bite into one.

Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the tomatoes, 4 cups baby spinach, 1-1/2 to 2 cups shredded chicken, 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, and the remaining 1/4 cup water.

Cook, stirring constantly, until the spinach is wilted, the chicken is warmed through, and the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.

A creamy, cheesy sauce should have formed, but if it looks dry at any point, add one tablespoon at a time of warm water until you reach your desired consistency.

Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and some freshly ground black pepper.

Serve and enjoy!

Notes:

Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 4 days.

Enjoy leftovers as-is, warmed up with a splash of water to loosen up the sauce. 

Or, stir leftovers into vegetable or chicken stock for a quick and comforting soup. 

Either way, you can liven them up with more leafy greens, or other quick-cooking vegetables like mushrooms.

Denise's notes: 

The rotisserie chicken is a great idea but as I had chicken breasts already in the fridge, I used those after poaching them.

Not much else to say as we didn't change anything else.  It was delicious.  

We have leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.  It can only get better.

Wishing you good health.  

Thanks for visiting, and enjoy your day.