Creamy Parmesan Orzo

I made this recipe a few weeks ago to go along with Chicken Cordon Bleu– which by the way, was a very nice pairing. I confess, though, that I had actually made it one other time several months ago and it was a big, giant FAIL. Last time around I didn’t read through the recipe well enough ahead of time. I’d gotten to the point to add the chicken broth, went to grab chicken broth from my cupboard and only then, when the orzo is already going on the stove, realized that the can I’d thought was chicken broth was actually canned pears. I had no chicken broth! Since I had left the heat on while grabbing that can, then during my pear discovery, the orzo ended up burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan and making my kitchen STINK like burned nasty orzo. I was traumatized 🙂

Thankfully, this time around I read through the recipe several times, and measured out everything I needed before starting even step 1.

When I made it this time I toasted the orzo a bit longer than I would have liked, so a few of the orzo pieces were a bit on the crunchy side- not really what I was going for- so I added a splash of heavy cream that I had out for the cordon bleu sauce and let it simmer for a few extra minutes.

Next time around I may add the heavy cream again since it was very tasty and creamy. I’ll probably also lessen the parsley by just a smidge and add garlic to the orzo when it’s toasting in the butter.

Creamy Parmesan Orzo
Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 cup orzo
1 1/4 cup fat free, less sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese- I used more like 1/2 a cup
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
*I’ll also add 2 cloves of crushed garlic next time

 Directions:

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over moderate heat, then add the orzo and toast until some of the orzo is lightly browned (I did this too long and it was crunchier than I would have liked, so keep an eye on it).

Pour the water and chicken broth into the pan and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.

Serve!

Source: Num Yummy Recipes