Quick Greek Spinach and Chicken Orzo

Submitted by Muffin Goddess

"This is adapted from a recipe I found in a cooking magazine I get. This is great for brown-bagging because it tastes good at any temperature, and it's really quick to make. If you are salt sensitive, omit the bouillion cubes and olive brine (not essential, but I like the flavor they add)."

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photo by Linky

Ready In:: 30mins
Ingredients:: 12
Yields:: 1 1/4 cups/serving
Serves:: 6

ingredients

8 ounces orzo pasta
2 chicken bouillon cubes (for the orzo cooking liquid) or 2 vegetable bouillon cubes (for the orzo cooking liquid)
1 oven-roasted deli chicken
3 cups fresh Baby Spinach (regular fresh spinach will work if you can't find baby)
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled (I use the plain kind, but the flavored type works here too)
1 large tomatoes, diced (or substitute halved grape tomatoes, approx. 1 1/2 cups)
¹⁄₂ cup kalamata olive, pitted (reserve a bit of the brine if you use good quality olives)
2 tablespoons olive oil
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons reserved olive brine (optional)
1 tablespoon capers (optional)
fresh ground pepper, to taste

directions

Bring a large pot (needs to be quite large because you will need to have room to mix once you add the bulky spinach) of water to boil with the bouillon cubes. Add orzo and cook according to directions on box (approximately 10 minutes). Drain and return to pot.
Stir in all other ingredients and cook over medium heat for about 2 to 3 more minutes to heat everything through.
NOTE: If you want to use only the white meat chicken in this dish (which is what I have to do for my family) and your chickens are small, you may want to purchase two rotisserie chickens to guarantee that you'll have enough meat. Reserve the dark meat for another use. Serve warm, at room temp, or cold.

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Reviews

Made this delicious dish today for lunch. We both loved it and while it does make a lot of pasta -- it's all the better because you can have leftovers : ). I used some leftover grilled chicken and everything came together very quickly and easily. Will definitely make this again as it includes everything I usually have on hand. Made for ZWT9 - Greece, July, 2013.

DailyInspiration
This was a very easy, quick meal. Loved the flavor. Since I'm not an olive fan I made a slight change. Instead of the olives, olive oil, olive brine and salt, I used Kraft's Greek Vinaigrette dressing. Worked out great. Will definitely make again.

Tamara C.
Great pasta for an any night meal. Flavors go well together and quick to fix. We made the vegetarian version of this, used just a half tablespoon of oil and omitted the salt, since the other ingredients offered plenty. Used the optional capers (but more) and 2 tablespoons of the olive brine, which gave it a nice and different flavor. We ate this as an entree, so fed 2-3 for us. A yummy one.

Maito
Delicious and soooo easy to throw together. I served this for company and everyone loved it. I was looking for a recipe that I could do fast and would serve a crowd. I'm glad I picked this one. It has the trademark Greek flavors. I loved being able to use rotisserie chicken. Thank you!

LifeIsGood
What a great recipe! I followed everything as written (usually I end up tweaking something, but not this time unless you consider using bagged ready-roasted, cut up white meat chicken as tweaking!) Made it for a neighborhood potluck, so I didn't have to worry about it being hot. But DH and I had samples while it was warm and it was D-lish! Thanks! Made for CQ2016 IHPi

Linky

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Muffin Goddess

Norwood, 0

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