Tuesday night: Orzo Risotto with Chicken

Last night I made a Double Delicious recipe called Chicken Orzo. It is a variation of chicken and rice that is supposedly more healthy. Let's just say that when you add orzo (which is my new favorite pasta) to shredded chicken, cream cheese, pureed cauliflower, onions, lemon juice and shredded Parmesan, you get a bunch of white food mixed together. It was so unappetizing. I dumped my steamed diced carrots and green peas over the top of it and it was still bland. The recipe did call for "sweet paprika" whatever that is. I tossed some regular paprika in, like the instructions said, and it turned the chicken pink-ish. The kids enjoyed it, but it was too sweet and, yet, too bland for me. Here is how I will make it next time. If you make it first, let me know how it turns out.

1 1/2 cup orzo, dry
3 chicken breasts, marinated in Lite Italian dressing (Pour enough to rub in the chicken and sit in the dressing), thinly sliced
1/2 t salt
1/4 t garlic
1 garlic clove, crushed and diced very finely
1/4 package dry Italian dressing mix
3 T grapeseed oil, divided
1 cup cauliflower puree
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 c healthy chicken broth
1 package frozen broccoli florets or however much fresh broccoli cuts your family will eat (I fill the skillet with broccoli-that's how much we eat.)
1 cup reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese (we don't need it to melt...)
1/4 c reduced-fat cream cheese, cut into cubes

1. Cook the orzo 5 minutes less than the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
2. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat 1 T of oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook 3-6 minutes each side, until it is no longer pink on the inside. Remove to a cutting board. When the chicken is cool to the touch, shred it with a fork and knife or cut it into chunks. Set aside.
3. In the same skillet, add the remaining oil to the skillet and place over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Cook until the onions begin to soften but not brown. Add the broccoli and cook over medium high heat, maybe a 7, until the broccoli is bright green, stirring constantly. Stir in the orzo, chicken, broth, cauliflower puree. Add the dry Italian dressing mix, shredded cheese and cream cheese, stirring until the cream cheese melts completely and the mixture is creamy. Note: You could even mix the cream cheese, shredded cheese, cauliflower puree, chicken broth and dry Italian dressing all together. Then add the orzo to that and mix together. Then add the chicken. Finally, add all of that to the skillet. Then stir to incorporate the broccoli into the mix. I think that is what I would do. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

I would serve this with a salad and maybe fruit for my kids.

Misc tips:

The key to defrosting a puree is to leave it in the fridge all day. If you forget to do that, fill a bowl with hot water and place the baggie of puree inside. It will defrost quickly. And I love pre-diced onion that you find at the grocery store. What a time saver! No pics tonight-sorry-it was just too lame to take a picture of. And so dissatisfying. Maybe I will post another time about how the visuals of our meals stimulate our appetites. Oh, and I like orzo because it looks exactly like rice and takes 7 minutes to cook. That's much better than trying to cook rice and burning it like I did last week. I can't wait to use the orzo in another recipe. Maybe with sliced baby bella mushrooms and shredded monterrey jack cheese, salt and pepper, and a little evaporated skim milk to add moisture. Oh, and butter. And possibly a little diced green pepper and diced onion. If you make that, let me know how it tastes. That sounds much better than white pasta and white chicken and white onions and white cheese and white cream cheese. What happens if you have a white plate?