Chicken and Orzo

I know I haven't been posting regularly lately.  I'm sorry about that.  I love cooking and sharing recipes.  However, I have been crazy busy.  My son just had sinus surgery so I was taking care of him and running him to follow up appointments.  Plus, the renovations are still not finished!  To be fair, the inside is finished.  But, of course, my hubby (who has more energy than the Energizer Bunny) decided to completely change the landscape of the front yard.  So, we have bulldozers and trailers everywhere.  I just want to wake up, drink a cup of coffee, and sit in the silence.  But that ain't gonna happen anytime soon.  Anyway, enough of my bellyaching.  Here is a really yummy one-pot recipe that is sort of a mix between chicken noodle soup and chicken and rice.  It almost has a risotto feel.  Really delicious, but really easy.

CHICKEN AND ORZO

2 TBS oil
1 TBS butter
1/2 lb chicken tenders (or 2 boneless breasts, cut up)
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 lb orzo pasta
1 quart chicken broth (4 cups)
1 cup water
salt/pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Season the chicken tenders with salt and pepper.

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat for a few minutes.  Add oil and butter.  Brown chicken on both sides.  That just means cook it on one side (without moving it around) until it's browned.  Then flip it over and brown it on the other side.  It doesn't have to be cooked through at this point.

Once the chicken is browned on both sides, remove it to a plate.

Those brown bits on the bottom of the pot are great flavor.  You want to get those up and into your dish.  We are going to do that with the veggies.

Add the onion, celery and carrots to the pot.  Lower the heat to medium-low.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir them occasionally and when you do, scrape the bottom of the pot.  The water released from the veggies will help get those brown bits off the bottom of the pot.

After about 7-10 minutes or so, the veggies are softened a bit.

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the orzo.

Stir well then add the chicken broth and the water.

Add the fresh chopped parsley and stir.

Raise the heat to high and bring it to a boil.  Once boiling. stir well, then put the lid on and lower the heat to low.  Let it simmer with the lid on for 25 minutes, stirring twice during that time.

After 25 minutes, turn off the heat, remove the lid and fluff it with a fork.

This dish is so good!  Simple, comforting, filling, one-pot wonder.  What's not to love?