Healthy Waists, Healthy Wallets: Summer Chicken and Orzo

Welcome to Healthy Waists, Healthy Wallet: Summer Edition!

No one wants to do a lot of heavy cooking during the summer. It’s simply too hot. But I have found that kids INSIST on being fed numerous times a day. I mean, really!

This is one of our family’s favorite meals. It’s delicious, quick, only uses one pot, and can be modified in many, many ways. What’s not to like?

Summery Chicken and Orzo

Ingredients

For the marinade:

Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 to 4 cloves garlic, smashed
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup olive oil

For the pasta:

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (chicken thighs are far cheaper and tastier than chicken breasts, but you can use breasts for this if you want)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (I love the mixed ones – red, yellow, orange – that you can find in grocery stores)
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into ¼ inch slices
8 ounces orzo pasta, or some other small pasta (I use whole wheat orzo that you can find in some grocery stores or online)
3 ½ cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
A couple of sprigs of basil, leaves removed from stems and thinly sliced
½ bunch parsley, chopped
To garnish: Most everyone has one or more of these in the pantry or fridge
Kalamata or mixed olives, pitted and sliced
Roasted pepper, sliced into strips
Artichoke hearts, marinated or plain, quartered
Hearts of palm, sliced into ½ inch rounds
Capers
Shaved or grated hard Italian cheese like Parmagiano-Reggiano, pecorino Romano, or asiago

Directions

For the marinated chicken:

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a zippered plastic bag or a shallow baking dish. Cut the chicken thighs into bite size pieces and add to the marinade. Allow the chicken to stay in its bath for at least 30 minutes or up to an hour.

For the pasta:

Heat a sauté pan or high-sided skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Drain the marinade from the chicken and brown the pieces on all sides, turning occasionally so each side gets golden brown and delicious. Do this in batches; if you crowd the pan, the chicken will steam instead of brown, and it will look pale and anemic. Transfer the chicken to a plate or bowl while the pasta cooks.

Add the garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, orzo, water, salt, and pepper to the pan, and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the orzo is cooked through, and the water has mostly evaporated/is absorbed. If the water as evaporated/absorbed before the pasta is cooked, add about ½ cup of water at a time, stirring and cooking through, until the pasta has reached the consistency you desire. You do want a bit of water remaining to create the sauce for the pasta.

Add the chicken (and any juices that accumulated on the plate or in the bowl), basil, and parsley to the pasta and stir to combine. Remove from the heat. In our house, I set out various garnishes and allow people to choose what they like. I’m partial to some olives, capers, and hearts of palm. My younger kiddo would forgo the pasta for hearts of palm and artichoke hearts if she could.

This recipe serves 4 – 2 adults and 2 starving wolverines, um, I mean teens – with enough left over for a lunch or two.