Happy Wednesday Muses! I hope you all are doing well! If ya’ll didn’t know, I’ve still been cooking and working on updating the blog with a lot of recipes to what I’ve cooked over on Instagram. However, if you want to cook with me step by step while I’m in the kitchen, follow me over on Instagram and also join my “Musey Foodies” channel over there too!
So, the other night, I finally got to experiment with making orzo.
Orzo, while it looks like a type of rice, is actually a type of pasta. If you know me, then you know ya girl, LOVES pasta. I could eat pasta every day if the good Lord allows.
I saw a recipe from Karim Saad (aka @ice.karimcooks) on Instagram and he does meals that shows his audience that “eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring.” I’ve been following his page for a while getting ideas and decided to go ahead and give this bad boy a try.
I love when people can give you the confidence to try something new! When I first saw the recipe, I was excited to try it but terrified of cooking the orzo since it’s something I’ve never cooked before. However, Karim’s walk-through was easy to follow and my orzo came out perfect.
When you look at my dish versus his, you can see I prepared my chicken differently. Instead of pan-searing my chicken, I put on a light breading and pan-fried it instead, sorta like how I’ve done my chicken parm earlier in the year.
I also want to take this time to shoutout Kyvan Foods, they sent me a lovely box of an assortment of their products to try out! I meant to have stuff up about it earlier, however, around the time I got the products I ended up with COVID. So, this is sponsored by them!
So let’s get into this recipe and this orzo, Karim said he got his done in about 30 minutes and I can attest to that, it took me about 30.
So from the store you need:
- Chicken (Thinly Sliced Boneless Chicken Breast or Chicken Tenderloin Strips)
- 1 Box of Orzo pasta (I used the Barilla brand)
- 1 Garlic bulb: already minced or individual cloves to chop or mince
- Half & Half: You can always use heavy cream if you want but I’m trying to do better
- Grated Parmesan
- 1 Lemon
- Chicken Broth (if you’d rather use bone broth, you can as well, Karim did)
- Italian Bread Crumbs
- Kyvan’s Chicken Breading
- Basil Paste
- Vegetable Oil
- Olive Oil or Avocado Oil
And your seasonings, you know they get their own block:
- Salt
- Pepper
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Kyvan’s Savory Chicken Seasoning
- Smoked Paprika
- Dried Oregano
- Rosemary
- Parsley
Directions:
- Start by prepping your chicken. I wash (soak) mine for a couple minutes in lemons and a little white vinegar. Afterwards, I drain the water and place the chicken on a pan or in a bowl. For this one, I used a bowl.
- I season with salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder, Kyvan’s Chicken Seasoning, smoked paprika, dried oregano, and basil paste. I also drizzle a little oil to make sure the seasonings deeply penetrate the meat so that it’s full of flavor when I’m massaging in the seasoning in. Once you do that, you can sit the chicken to the side. I usually do this while the chicken is cold and let it sit to the side to bring close to room temp before cooking.
- Then, I prep my stove. In one pan, I add some vegetable oil for frying and turn it on medium-high heat and another pan I turn to medium heat but add no oil.
- Then I turn to my breading. In a ziploc or other plastic bag, (you can even use a plate and mix the two together) I add two parts of the Kyvan Chicken Breading and one part Italian Bread Crumbs. I tend to use the Progressive brand of bread crumbs. I wanted a breading that was going to coat the chicken but not be too thick. Then you can either add two pieces at a time or one piece. I think one by one, it coats better.
- Once your oil is hot, carefully add your chicken to your vegetable oil and fry evenly on both sides and make sure the chicken is completely done in the center.
- In the empty pan, add your orzo and toast/stir your orzo for about 5-10 minutes.
- After your orzo is toasted, add in two cups of chicken (or bone) broth. Let it simmer and start cooking.
- Once the orzo has started cooking, turn your heat down and do the following; add in a splash of half & half, 1/2 cup of grated parm, dried parsley, dried cilantro, rosemary, the juice of half a lemon, and salt & pepper to taste.
- Give it all a stir to incorporate it all and let it continue to cook. You can always add more half & half or chicken stock for the consistency you want.
- Once your chicken is done and has rested, you can cut the chicken up in strips or cubes, or even leave it whole. I also squeeze some lemon juice on the chicken as well once it’s out the oil.
- Once your orzo is al dente, you can begin plating.
- I put down a bed of orzo first and then add my chicken on top. For garnish, you can add more parm and/or parsley.
For my first time making Orzo, I was super happy about how it came out. It was delicious, took on the flavoring of everything well and when cooked al dente — amazing.
The Kyvan breading was seasoned perfectly, not over-seasoned or under-seasoned. I usually re-season my breading at this point but didn’t need to because the breading is perfectly seasoned already.
The Kyvan chicken seasoning, which is infused with sweet potatoes, is perfectly blended and not salty at all which makes it a staple in the kitchen for poultry and pork in my opinion.
I loved the way this dish came out and can’t wait to try it out again.
Let me know if you decided to try this recipe out! Special shoutout to Karim Saad and Kyvan Foods!
Happy Eating Muses!
Links:
+ Follow me on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify
+ Listen to my Muse Chef Monday playlist on Spotify
+ Shop Kyvan Foods | The Seasoning | The Breading
Lemon Orzo with Chicken
Equipment
- 1 Medium Skillet
- 1 Large Skillet (preferably cast-iron)
Ingredients
From the Seasoning Cabinet
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Kyvan's Savory Chicken Seasoning
- Smoked Paprika
- Dried Oregano
- Rosemary
- Parsley
Your Grocery List
- Chicken Breast (thinly sliced is best in my opinion, boneless)
- 1 box Orzo Pasta (I use the Barilla brand)
- 1 tbsp Minced Garlic (I buy mine already minced, but you can mince your own)
- ½ cup Half & Half
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Lemon
- 3 cups Chicken or Bone Broth
- Italian Bread Crumbs (Progressive is my favorite brand)
- Kyvan's Chicken Breading
- Basil Paste (I use the Gourmet Garden brand)
- Vegetable Oil
- Olive or Avocado Oil
Instructions
- Start by prepping your chicken. I wash (soak) mine for a couple minutes in lemons and a little white vinegar. Afterwards, I drain the water and place the chicken on a pan or in a bowl. For this one, I used a bowl.
- I season with salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder, Kyvan’s Chicken Seasoning, smoked paprika, dried oregano, and basil paste. I also drizzle a little oil to make sure the seasonings deeply penetrate the meat so that it’s full of flavor when I’m massaging in the seasoning in. Once you do that, you can sit the chicken to the side. I usually do this while the chicken is cold and let it sit to the side to bring close to room temp before cooking.
- Then, I prep my stove. In one pan, I add some vegetable oil for frying and turn it on medium-high heat and another pan I turn to medium heat but add no oil.
- Then I turn to my breading. In a ziploc or other plastic bag, (you can even use a plate and mix the two together) I add two parts of the Kyvan Chicken Breading and one part Italian Bread Crumbs. I tend to use the Progressive brand of bread crumbs. I wanted a breading that was going to coat the chicken but not be too thick. Then you can either add two pieces at a time or one piece. I think one by one, it coats better.
- Once your oil is hot, carefully add your chicken to your vegetable oil and fry evenly on both sides and make sure the chicken is completely done in the center.
- In the empty pan, add your orzo and toast/stir your orzo for about 5-10 minutes.
- After your orzo is toasted, add in two cups of chicken (or bone) broth. Let it simmer and start cooking.
- Once the orzo has started cooking, turn your heat down and do the following; add in a splash of half & half, 1/2 cup of grated parm, dried parsley, dried cilantro, rosemary, the juice of half a lemon, and salt & pepper to taste.
- Give it all a stir to incorporate it all and let it continue to cook. You can always add more half & half or chicken stock for the consistency you want.
- Once your chicken is done and has rested, you can cut the chicken up in strips or cubes, or even leave it whole. I also squeeze some lemon juice on the chicken as well once it’s out the oil.
- Once your orzo is al dente, you can begin plating.
- I put down a bed of orzo first and then add my chicken on top. For garnish, you can add more parm and/or parsley.
