Like a winter stew, this dish from June's Cooking Light is served all in one "pot" and has everything you need in a meal: protein, carbs, starch, veggies. Plus, it's a cool and tasty dish for summer, with a very light dressing. I happened to have frise and skinless chicken thighs, so I substituted those for the arugula and chicken breasts. I had an especially tasty sheeps milk feta which I used instead of goats cheese. If you're like me and would rather spend time than money, buy your veggies whole and put your knife skills to work and quickly grill your whole chicken breasts.
Chicken-Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese
1 1/4 cups uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
3 cups chopped grilled chicken breast strips (such as Tyson)
1 1/2 cups trimmed arugula
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup prechopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain well.
2. Combine pasta, chicken, and the next 6 ingredients (through oregano) in a large bowl; toss well.
3. Combine vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle vinegar mixture over pasta mixture; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups salad and 1 tablespoon cheese)
CALORIES 295 (23% from fat); FAT 7.7g (sat 2.9g,mono 2.8g,poly 1.1g); IRON 2.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 55mg; CALCIUM 40mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.1g; SODIUM 788mg; PROTEIN 24.4g; FIBER 2g
1 comment:
I finally made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS, a great dish for summer! Here are some small alterations I made:
- I also made my chicken fresh - I actually used whole boneless chicken breasts which I diced and sauted in olive oil with fresh ground back pepper
- I omitted the onion because I don't like the strong taste of raw onion, and not to worry the whole dish was still very flavorful
- I used the fresh basil but did not have fresh oregano, so I used some dried oregano which I added to the dressing. I'll bet it's better with fresh, but this worked in a pinch!
- I used white wine vinegar instead of red, again as it was what I had on hand
- I did use a tasty goat cheese called Crottin de Champcol, very mild and yummy on this dish
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