Chicken day 3 - Parmesan Chicken Orzo

I LOVE the challenge of feeding our family frugally. And I love home cooked meals for my family. So I am constantly trying to stretch the proteins that I use. One of my favorite proteins to "stretch" is a chicken.

I start with a 6$ whole chicken. (I remember getting them 3/10$ back in the day!) Day 1 is almost always a roasted chicken with veggies. Simple, wholesome, and good for you. I stress the veggies. It is not only better for our health to eat more vegetables than chicken, but if I am going to be able to get a few meals out of this chicken, I have a lot of sides to go along. And nothing is cheaper than some roasted carrots and potatoes. After dinner, I pulled as much meat off the carcass as I could, and then put the bones, along with a couple more carrots and an onion, in water to boil on the stove to make stock.

Day 2 this time around was chicken pot pie. I had a couple of carrots left, a partial carton of half and half, the chicken off the bone, the stock, and luckily a can of crescent rolls in the fridge. (If I hadn't had crescent roll dough, I would have made a crust.)

Day 3 I decided to try something new. I made a parmesan chicken orzo. And it is YUMMY.

I started out browning the orzo, diced onion, and garlic in some butter until the veggies were translucent and the orzo started to turn golden brown. 

Then I started slowly adding my homemade chicken stock, one half cup at a time, stirring the entire time as the orzo started to absorb the liquid. As the stock is absorbed, I added more, cooking until the orzo was al dente. Similar to making risotto.

Then I stirred in the leftover chicken, parmesan, basil, and milk. I didn't have to add any salt and pepper because my stock was heavily seasoned. 

The finished product is wonderful. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive. A quick pasta dish with chicken that will fit the bill for dinner tonight. Paired with roasted veggies it will be wonderful. 

Creamy Parmesan Chicken Orzo

4 Tbsp butter

2 cups uncooked orzo pasta

1/4 cup finely diced onion

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2-3 cups of stock (chicken or veggie), as needed

1/3 c milk

3/4 c parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp dried basil

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

salt and pepper to taste

In the melted butter, saute the orzo, onion, and garlic until the orzo begins to turn golden brown and the onions soften. Over medium heat, add the stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently, letting the stock absorb into the pasta. (Watch the heat level - so that the orzo doesn't stick to the bottom and burn.) Continue this for about 15 minutes, letting the orzo absorb stock, until it is al dente. Add in cubed chicken, parmesan, milk, and basil. Remove from heat, and stir until all is incorporated. Salt and pepper to taste.