orzo pasta dish with green cauliflower side

No one croak...  but I have to tell you that I have started cooking again!  I've made a handful of meals and I feel like Superwoman.  It's quite ridiculous.  I've really enjoyed it even though most of the new recipes I've tried have not turned out.  Nothing beats a home-cooked meal though.

The other night we had orzo pasta with chicken, red peppers, and portobello mushrooms with a side of green cauliflower, yogurt, and pomegranate.  

I've made this in the past and it's one of my favorite meals of all times.  So delicious.  I usually make extra so I can have it for left overs for days.  This recipe was adapted from Food & Wine Magazine's Quick from Scratch One-Dish Meals.  The recipe called for shiitake mushrooms but I had portobellos on hand.  They were exquisite.

Here is the recipe....

  Orzo with Chicken, Red Pepper, and Portobellos

Ingredients:

5 tbsp olive oil

1 1/3 lbs chicken breasts

Salt

Fresh-ground black pepper

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/4 lb portobello mushrooms, stems removed, caps cut 1/4-inch slices

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb orzo

1/4 lb mild goat cheese, such as Montrachet

1/3 c heavy cream

1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1.  In a large nonstick frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over moderate heat.  Season the chicken with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper.  Put the chicken in the pan and cook for 5 min.  Turn and cook until just done, about 5 min longer.  Remove.  When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut the breasts crosswise into 1/4-inch slices.

2.  Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the same pan over moderately high heat.  Put in the bell pepper, shiitakes, thyme, and 1/8 tsp salt.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are golden brown, about 5 min.  Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 sec longer.  Remove from the heat.

3.  In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the orzo until just done, about 12 min.  Reserve 1/2 c of the pasta water; drain the orzo.

4.  In the frying pan, combine the reserved pasta water with the remaining 2 tbsp oil, goat cheese, cream, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Bring almost to a simmer over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth, about 2 min.  Add the orzo, chicken, and 3 tbsp of the parsley and stir to combine.  Serve topped with the remaining 1 tbsp parsley.

Yield: 4 servings

For the side we had Cumin Seed Roasted Cauliflower with Yogurt (adapted from Smitten Kitchen;  click on link for recipe)  I was not fond of this dish but I'm posting it because it has a lot of potential.  I loved the roasted cauliflower but not the added seasoning.  If you like Cumin Seeds then you will like this but I've decided I'm not a fan.

Also, the yogurt was awful.  I mixed my homemade Greek yogurt with the feta cheese (as she indicates).  Not good, not good at all.  My suggestion is to taste it BEFORE you pile it on your cauliflower!  It sure is pretty though.  :)