Garlic Chicken with Orzo

from allrecipes.com, submitted by VBRAUER671

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cloves garlic 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast

halves - cut into bite-size pieces salt to taste 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 2 cups fresh spinach leaves grated Parmesan cheese for topping

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add orzo pasta, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.

2.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the garlic and red pepper 1 minute, until garlic is golden brown. Stir in chicken, season with salt, and cook 2 to 5 minutes, until lightly browned and juices run clear. Reduce heat to medium, and mix in the parsley and cooked orzo. Place spinach in the skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

I added one can of italian stewed tomatoes, chopped in the blender for a few seconds, instead of the parsley.  It just sounded good!  And it was good.  The only complaint was the spinach.  I used baby spinach so the leaves were smaller than the regular kind, but I didn't break them up into even smaller pieces.  And when they are wilted they are long and slimey, really.  The boys didn't like that one bit!  I'd probably decrease the amount of spinach by half and chop the leaves a little before adding it to the dish.

Husband rating:  3 stars

Boys say:  mixed reviews