Orzo.

When I went to go see The Lion King, I had to go straight to town after work so that I wouldn't miss the show. My goodness, I sure did NOT want to miss that magical moment...but my sister knew that I would be way too excited to eat dinner. So she made this dish and even though I insisted that I wasn't hungry because I was just way excited, she convinced me to at least eat while I was getting ready. She knew that the show was going to be long and that I will eventually get hungry.

Let me tell you, I am so glad that I listened to my Ate ko, because this simple dish was so amazingly good that I asked her to give me the recipe! I literally was stuffing this in my mouth on the way out of the door it was so yummy! *laughs*

I usually hate cooking dinner for only myself because it's never fun to make myself a "wholesome" dinner when it's just me. And for me, its a lot harder because usually the stores don't sell their food in just one serving size. *laughs* Literally this recipe called for only 1/2 cup orzo and 1/2 cup white rice...so you would think,  oh, only 1 cup yeah right! *laughs* It was a lot of food, and if I had to estimate depending on how much food your family eats, but I think this could feed a family of at least 4 with some leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

I actually do not know what this is called...I just know that I had no idea what orzo was...but guess what you can find it in the pasta section in Safeway. :) But here is the ingredients/recipe if you so choose to want to try this yummy dish. I got it from my sister and I tweaked just a little bit.

1/2 cup orzo

1/2 cup white rice

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves/pieces garlic, minced

2 cups chicken (or any kine) broth

Whatever vegetables you want to use 

(I used zucinni and asparagus 

(I seriously NEVER thought I would willing buy those two vegetables! *laughs*))

1)  Sauteed onion in 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil on med/low til onion is see throughish

2)  Add orzo and turn heat to medium and stir until orzo is golden brown

3)  Add minced garlic and stir for 1 minute

4)  Add rice and chicken (any kine) broth

5)  Increase temp to high and bring to a boil, uncovered

6)  Reduce heat to low (2), cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes until rice/orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed.

7)  Depending on what your vegetables are, add them 5-10 minutes before it's finished

8)  Remove from heat and leave alone for 5 minutes

9) Fluff with fork (taste to season) and enjoy!

Actually, the way that my sister and I cook is by "eyeballing" it...so everything that is written is an estimate. That is the directions my sister gave me. I ended up adding 1/2 cup of broth more when I added the vegetables...and I just placed the vegetables on top of the orzo/rice and so it practically just got steamed. And I really don't like mushy vegetables, so I didn't steam it all that long either.

My problem whenever I cook, is that I cook SO MUCH! And so look at that! I got leftovers...which I don't mind because it's sooo yummy! Plus, I'm going to let Amanda know that she can bring some to school for lunch if she wants too. Oh yeah, and it didn't take that long to make...if anything the longest part is the simmering part. So I would say that it took me like 12 (if that) minutes to prep everything...then when I was waiting for the rice/orzo to simmer I cut up my vegetables. So, it's pretty quick to make...I like that.

I am often accused of being childish. I prefer to interpret that as child-like. I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things. I tend to exaggerate and fantasize and embellish. I still listen to instinctual urges. I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind. I never water my garden without soaking myself. It has been after such times of joy that I have achieved my greatest creativity and produced my best work. ~Leo F. Buscaglia, Bus 9 to Paradise