Greek Chicken With Orzo

 

I’m always trying to come up with a creative way to serve chicken. This Greek Chicken with Orzo is a hit with my family! It’s so flavorful and I love it because it’s easy but seems kind of fancy.  Be sure to read my bonus tip below.  The orzo is perfect for a summer salad, too!

Ingredients:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 16oz. bottle of Greek dressing
• 16oz. box of orzo pasta
• 1 pint of grape tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• 1 cup of pitted Kalamata olives
• Feta cheese

Directions:

Do this part ahead of time:

• Put the chicken in a resealable plastic bag or container.  Add enough Greek dressing to fully coat the chicken, probably half a bottle for 6 pieces of thinly sliced chicken breast. Allow to marinate for at least 2 hours before cooking.  I put mine in in the morning after breakfast and let it marinate all day.

When you’re ready to make dinner:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil to coat and put in oven for 15-20 minutes or until the tomatoes have burst a bit and are slightly browned. Just do this first and by the time you have everything else ready they’ll be done!  I honestly didn’t even time it.
• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil on the stove. Add the orzo and cook per package instructions until cooked through.
• While the tomatoes and the pasta are cooking, preheat a grill pan or saute pan, whatever you have, over medium high heat.  Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through and beginning to brown.
• In between flipping your chicken, cut the Kalamata olives in half if you’d like.  It’s not necessary but makes them stretch a bit and they are a little pricier for olives so I like to cut mine up.
• When the orzo is done cooking, drain it.  Add to it the olives, cooked tomatoes, and remaining Greek dressing.  You want enough to coat the pasta but not drown it so use your best judgement.  I needed just about all of the remaining dressing. Sprinkle with as much feta cheese as you like and stir to combine.
• Serve the chicken on top of the orzo and sprinkle the entire dish with more feta cheese.

BONUS:

The orzo salad is amazing cold!  You can eat it leftover as is and it’s so good. Or, don’t roast the tomatoes but cut them in half and do everything else the same. Just chill the salad before serving. It’s perfect for a summer cookout!