September 25, 2011

Chicken and Orzo Stew

If you find yourself home alone on a Sunday with a bit of rain outside and a hankering for an easy, delicious and hearty soup, this is the recipe for you.

I got this recipe out of The Big Book of Soups and Stews and went to the store during a brief sun break to get a few ingredients.

Here is the recipe as I made it.

Ingredients:
-2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil
-2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes with juice
-1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 teaspoon dried basil
-1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
-1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
-1 teaspoon salt
-pepper to taste
-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound), cut into bite-sized chunks
-1/4 cup dry white wine
-1 1/4 cups uncooked orzo
-1/2 of an onion, diced
-8 oz mushrooms, quartered
-2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch slices
-2 large handfuls of baby spinach
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Directions:
1. Warm butter in large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, saute until soft. Add mushrooms, saute for about 5 minutes until mushrooms are soft.
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2. Add broth, tomatoes, garlic, basil, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
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3. Add chicken, wine, orzo, and zucchini. reduce heat to one step above low and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through and orzo is tender.
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4. Stir in spinach.
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5. Once spinach is wilted, serve and enjoy!
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This was seriously so quick and delicious. I would recommend cutting the zucchini slices into half moons so they would get a tad squishier, they were a bit too crunchy for me.

Enjoy!