Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Creamy Parmesan Orzo



2 weeks ago at the grocery store, I picked up a box of orzo. I had no clue how to prepare it, and to be honest I don't think I've ever even eaten it before. But I'm always looking to do different side dishes so I thought it would be good for that. Well that box sat in my pantry for about a week or so. I scanned allrecipes.com with no luck, and even looked through some other food blogs. I still didn't find anything I was interested in. Then I happened to find my way on the Cook like a Champion blog and found exactly what I was looking for! A perfect way to serve my orzo! So I tried it last night and oh my gosh I loved it! I served it with Cheddar Baked Chicken, and it was a perfect side to that. It was also a perfect "base" recipe and I'm SO excited to try all different variations on it. But for the 1st time, I followed the recipe (almost) to the T! It reminded both my husband and I of risotto but it's a lot less time consuming. Either way it's great, you will love it!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Cook like a Champion

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup orzo
1 1/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese (I didn't measure my Parmesan, but I know I used way more than 1/4 cup!!!)
2 tablespoons parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch of Nutmeg

Directions:
-Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
-Add orzo and cook three minutes, stirring constantly.
-Stir in broth and water; bring to a boil.
-Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
-Remove from heat.
-Stir in cheese, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Grate a little Parmesan over the top right before serving.

6 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you liked the orzo! It's one of my favorite side dishes!

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  2. I love orzo and especially with cheese. This looks delicious!

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  3. Very nice blog, I enjoyed your recent pork chop recipe too.

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  4. Mmmmm... that looks so delicious on a freezing cold day like today. yum!

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  5. We made this as a side for a dinner party last weekend and everyone raved. If they only knew how easy it was. Thanks for helping to make me shine.

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