Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

I have had the recipe for this side dish for quite some time and for some reason haven't made it...until now.  See, that's what I love about this blog.  It's forcing....no, more like encouraging me to try new recipes.  And believe me, I have tons of them!

The recipe for this side dish came from allrecipes.com and all I have to say is WOW!!!  It was really, really good!  Delicious!  Easy and so tasty!  Now who doesn't love that kind of recipe?  I will definitely make this one over and over again!  YUM!  

Ok, now onto the recipe.

The Stars of the Show: Orzo, butter, chicken broth, parmesan cheese, dried basil.  The original recipe calls for fresh basil.  I didn't have any so I used dried and it was still delicious!

Orzo is a rice shaped pasta (in case you've never cooked with it before).  It can be found right next to all the other dried pasta in any grocery store.  Above is my cute little Peanut modeling it for you!

The first step is to brown the orzo in some melted butter.  Just melt some butter and pour in the dry pasta.  You don't have to stir it constantly but you do want to give it a stir every few minutes to make sure it doesn't burn.  Browning the orzo first gives it a real yummy flavor.

This is what it will look like when it is browned.  Once it's browned you are going to pour in your can of chicken broth and bring it to a boil.  Once it's boiling be sure to turn down the heat to med-low, cover the pan and leave it alone for about 15-20 minutes.  I did give mine a little stir about halfway through just to make sure it was doing ok and not sticking to the bottom.

Here is what it looks like when it's done.  You want most of the liquid to be absorbed, but you don't want it to be dried out.  At this point, you turn off the heat and add the parmesan and basil and stir it to combine.  Then try not to burn your mouth as you dig into it!

So delicious!  Please don't let my bad photography keep you from trying this recipe :-).

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

via allrecipes.com

2 tbs. butter

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta

1 (12.5 oz.) can chicken broth

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp dried basil (or 1/4 cup chopped fresh)

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in heavy skillet over med-high heat.  Stir in orzo and saute until lightly browned.  

 Stir in chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Cover.  Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.

Mix in Parmesan cheese and basil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Transfer to a shallow bowl.  Garnish with basil sprigs if desired.

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