I found a recipe from a news feed. i made it tonight and enjoyed a very good diiner. I made three packages for three more meals… 2 legs each, and froze them.
I used my own chicken stock and forgot that it would have no salt. So, if your stock is like mine, you will need to add salt.
Chicken And Orzo With Lemon And Olives
Time
45 minutes
8 chicken drumsticks
Salt, pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups orzo
3 cups chicken broth
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 small lemon, cut into 8 wedges
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ cup pitted Kalamata olives
1 large bay leaf
3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, divided
1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the chicken legs well on all sides with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
2
In a Dutch oven or large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the legs well on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan.
3
Add the orzo, chicken stock, garlic, lemon wedges and juice, olives, bay leaf and 1 tablespoon of the oregano. Stir to combine all the ingredients, then return the chicken to the pan. Cover and transfer to the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is done (the meat will be firm and its juices will run clear). Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, sprinkle with the remaining oregano and serve.
Author’s Notes.
If You’re Making Chicken and Orzo with Lemon and Olives, a Few Tips
Reach for a large cast iron skillet or oven-safe nonstick skillet. While it asks you to cook the meal in a Dutch oven or a large stockpot, I always reach for my 12-inch cast iron skillet, which provides enough surface area to nestle the chicken into the orzo without it looking crowded. And if you don’t have a matching lid, use aluminum foil to cover.
Deseed your lemon. Taking the extra step to remove the seeds beforehand means you don’t have to worry about biting into a stray seed or two later on.
Toast the orzo in the pan. The recipe calls for adding the rest of the ingredients at the same time, but I like to add the orzo first to give it time to toast in the chicken fat, which deepens the flavor.
Deglaze the pan with chicken stock. After toasting the orzo, I deglaze the pan with chicken stock, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon, to make sure all the tasty bits get mixed up with the stock. Afterwards, I add the remaining ingredients.
Try it with dried oregano. If you don’t have fresh oregano on hand, you can replace it with 1/2 tablespoon of dried oregano
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