Today I thought a festive side dish was in order since we are getting so close to Christmas!
Today is my last day of work before a 4-day weekend. After that, I am back for 3 days and then to another 4-day weekend. I wish this was my schedule all the time!
This is a side dish I put together after Kellen told me he wanted tomatoes in everything.....seriously the kid adores tomatoes. I love tomato basil together and made this to pair with Italian grilled pork tenderloin. I made this into a one-pot recipe to reduce dishes and eliminate draining pasta and making a mound of dirty dishes. The result was a creamy and delicious orzo bursting with flavor. All of us loved this and since then I have made it a few times since.
Last night I went to barre and finished the night with a few margaritas with my sister in-aw after class. Tonight, I am finishing up wrapping and getting ready for this weekend! I also need to get to the store to avoid the mayhem on Friday I expect it will be. My favorite dish we are making are red wine mushrooms. They cook for hours and are amazing. Tonight are are also making oreo truffles and I want to watch Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!
Another surprising development...it has been in the mid-thirties here and melting our snow! Only in Wisconsin does it go from -25 to snow melting in December....
Have a great day!
Ingredients
1 cup orzo pasta
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
2 Tbl grated parmesan cheese
1/8 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
Place orzo and chicken broth in a medium pot. Bring to a simmer and allow orzo to absorb the broth as it cook. Once orzo has finished cooking (6-9 minutes) and broth has absorbed add the garlic powder, tomatoes, cheeses, basil and pepper flakes. Stir well and serve.