Skillet Chicken and Orzo with Spinach

We are back and we are married!! We had a magical wedding day followed immediately by an beautiful adventuremoon to Vermont. In the coming weeks, I will share some memories of both the wedding and honeymoon, particularly because the honeymoon was such a *foodie* experience! But for now, it's time to get back in the swing of things and get CWW back up to speed with the first recipe of the new year!

I don't cook often. This is a fact. I especially don't randomly accept the opportunity to cook. But while Will was in finals, he asked me to step in with the cooking a bit. One of the nights, there was no real plan of what to make. My main ingredient would be chicken that Will had thawed with no recipe in mind. But that was all that was planned! So I pulled out the new America's Test Kitchen Quick Cookbook that my mom's friend Judy gave us and flipped through it for inspiration, making sure to hang out near the "chicken" and "quick" sections. While I think their definition of "quick" is coined loosely, the recipe I decided to make turned out really well. I selected the skillet chicken with orzo recipe because we had these three main ingredients on hand: chicken, spinach and orzo. While we sadly didn't have the feta it called for, reading the ingredients list made me feel confident that I could make this meal and that it would turn out alright. Well if nothing else, I've learned that toasting orzo is awesome and that yes, I am completely capable of cooking a recipe all on my own without any supervision from Will! And it can turn out surprisingly well, considering my intermediate level cooking abilities (at best). This didn't involve much cutting/slicing of ingredients, which is why I think it was successful! And I'm happy to report it tastes really flavorful, even without feta. Bon apetit!

Cooking Notes: As previously mentioned, this recipe called for feta, which we didn't have, so we didn't use it. It also was supposed to serve 4, so I cut the recipe in half and made it for just 2, which is what is reflected below. We don't have any fresh or dried oregano at the moment, so I chose to add Italian seasoning in place of the oregano.

Skillet Chicken and Orzo with Spinach (adapted from America's Favorite Test Kitchen-Quick; serves 2)
3/4 cup orzo
1 tbsp olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
S&P
1 tsp Pampered Chef Crushed Peppercorn & Garlic Rub
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
5 oz. baby spinach
1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Toast the orzo in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Begin to heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with S&P and PC Crushed Peppercorn & Garlic Rub. Place the chicken into the skillet and lightly brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the additional 1/2 tbsp oil, along with the garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes, to the skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth and toasted orzo. Nestle the browned chicken (with its juices) into the orzo, cover, and simmer gently until the chicken registers 160 degrees, which takes about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter, making sure to brush all the orzo off into the pan. Continue cooking the orzo until al dente and creamy, about 5 minutes more. Stir in spinach, one handful at a time, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and season with more S&P if necessary. Serve chicken on top of orzo and enjoy!