Creamy Chicken with Mushrooms and Orzo

I’m all about quick, easy and one pot dinners. Here’s a recipe for all you busy people out there that want a home cooked meal but don’t have the time or energy to spend more than 30 minutes making it. This is a fun take on chicken and rice. Except we are using orzo pasta instead of rice. For my vegetarian friends out there, feel free to omit the chicken, substitute vegetable stock and add more veggies to this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salt, pepper and garlic powder to season chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 8 ounces sliced baby bella or cremini mushrooms
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 2 1/4 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• Parmesan or Romano grated cheese for garnish
• Italian parsley for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sprinkle liberally both sides of chicken breasts with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
2. Heat large skillet over medium high heat.
3. Add olive oil and butter. Heat until bubbly.
4. Sear chicken for 2-3 minutes per side until a nice crust forms. (chicken will not be cooked through but will continue cooking with the orzo.)
5. Remove seared chicken to a plate.
6. Add mushrooms to hot skillet and saute until cooked about 2 minutes.
7. Reduce heat to medium.
8. Add garlic and orzo to pan and saute for 2 minutes.
9. Add chicken stock, cream and spinach.
10. Place chicken into orzo mixture.
11. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 F degrees.
12. Top with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and Italian parsley leaves.

Makes 4 servings.

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Egg Cups

These were so much fun to make. If you have young children and want to introduce them to cooking I think these would be an ideal beginner’s dish. There are so many different variations you can make depending on what ingredients you like or what you have on hand. I made vegetarian ones and for my son I did a take on a Denver omelette using ham, cheese, bell pepper and green onion.

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 eggs (will make 12 egg cups)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

FOR VEGETARIAN EGG CUPS:

• 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 Roma tomato, diced
• 2 large shiitake mushrooms, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 3/4 cup baby spinach, diced

FOR HAM AND CHEESE EGG CUPS:

• 1/2 cup diced ham
• 12 tablespoons shredded cheese, divided (I used cheddar and mozzarella mix)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 green onions, diced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Meanwhile, generously spray muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. (For easier clean up, use baking cups instead of cooking spray.)
2. Break eggs into a large bowl or 4 cup measuring cup. Add milk, salt and pepper. Whisk until ingredients are combined.
3. Add equal amounts of your vegetables (or ham and cheese) into each cup of your muffin pan.
   

   
4. Pour in egg mixture into each cup about 3/4 of the way up for each.
   

   

    

5. Bake egg cups for 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes up clean.
6. Let cool for a few minutes before taking egg cups out of pans.
7. Serve with your favorite condiments or none at all.

You can keep these in an air tight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave.

One Pot Lasagna Soup

Happy New Year everyone! I wish you a year of health, happiness and tasty food!

It’s been mighty chilly here in Northern California. We are having a week of much needed on and off rain showers. So today felt like a hearty soup kind of day. I know, lasagna soup doesn’t sound like the healthiest way to start your year. But eat in moderation and you should be fine. Right?!

Okay, will it make you feel better knowing I added spinach and mushroom to the recipe and used low fat cottage cheese instead of ricotta to make this soup a little healthier and lighter?

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 pound Italian sausage
• 1 medium size red or yellow onion, diced
• 4 ounces of white or brown mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (32 ounces) box chicken stock
• 2 (14.5 ounces) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 10 uncooked lasagna noodles, broken into 2 inch pieces
• 5 ounces baby spinach
• low fat cottage cheese (1 tablespoon per serving)
• chiffonade of basil for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Turn heat to medium high. Add olive oil to Dutch oven or heavy bottom large pot.
2. When oil ripples, add ground beef and Italian sausage to pot and stir occasionally until meat is browned.  Add onions, mushrooms and garlic. Mix and continue to cook until onions become translucent.
3. Drain any excess fat from pot.
4. Add chicken stock, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce,Italian seasoning, sugar, kosher salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese and lasagna noodles. Mix well.
5. Bring soup to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for 30 minutes.
6. During last 5 minutes of cook time, add spinach to soup and stir.
7. Serve soup with a tablespoon of cottage cheese and basil for garnish.