This meal is a much healthier option for us!
As we’ve been going through the process of redesigning our various meals to be a better fit for our diet restrictions, there are some meals that I’ve really been missing.
Sometimes I don’t miss them because I loved them as much as I loved the ease of preparing them on a busy night. Others, I miss because I just loved them.
One of the easy-to-prepare meals that I missed was this one because everyone liked it and it was fast. But, it’s not a good fit any longer.
Since chicken, broccoli and pasta is still one of our favorite combinations, I was looking for a healthier option to make instead.
Recently I’ve seen dishes which use orzo popping up on various blogs, recipe emails and even on Pinterest. We use orzo in our chicken soup, but I never think to use it as a side dish or a main dish, ever. Last night I decided to try. I had half a package left from the last soup Don made, and I had broccoli, chicken tenderloins and chicken broth all on hand.
I did something I don’t often do: I winged the recipe myself. No set measurements, although I used a broccoli orzo recipe from Skinnytaste.com as a guide, along with another orzo recipe on My Soup For You as my inspiration.
That said, here is what I did for a fast, mostly one-pot meal that got all thumbs up:
I keep a lot of the Aldi’s Fit and Active chicken broth on hand. They also sell vegetable broth.
I started out by thawing six tenderloins. I cut them up into bite sized pieces and sauteed them in a frying pan with a little bit of chicken broth and garlic.
While that was going, I cooked my orzo, about four ounces of it, in chicken broth instead of water. I cooked it according to the package directions, about 7 minutes, and drained out the broth when done.
I took a steam-fresh pack of frozen broccoli florets out of the freezer and put it in the microwave for about 5 minutes.
Quick, easy and delicious. Love that!
That whole scenario took about 10 minutes total. The longest part of the meal was thawing the chicken beforehand.
Once the orzo, broccoli and chicken were each done, I put them all into the one frying pan that held the chicken, together, and cooked a few minutes, adding more chicken broth, until it was to my liking.
I served the meal in bowls with the option of adding a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese on top, and my fans at the dinner table went wild. They loved it. I’d definitely make it again, but I’d make more. There was not a drop left.
This recipe was fast, easy and good for you! Give it a try and see if you agree!
The Whole bag of Chips 