Dinner Recipe: Toasted Orzo Chicken Soup

I found this recipe when I was looking for a nice cozy recipe for a cold day. Of course today was warm. One suggestion though is to take time to cut the veggies before starting (unless you have a cool kitchen gadget or a sharp knife). This is from the February issue of Everyday With Rachael Ray. It's supposed to be a 30 minute meal, but I would really say it's more like a 45 minute meal.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Chicken Stock (32oz. container)
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast pieces or tenders
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3/4 cup orzo pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small zucchini, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1/2 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 shallots or 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Directions:

1. In a medium pot, bring the chicken stock and chicken to a simmer. Lower the heat and poach the chicken for 12 minutes.

2. Heat a large soup pan over medium heat. Add the butter to melt. Add the orzo and cook, stirring constantly until deeply toasted (approx 3 to 5 minutes). Transfer to a plate.

3. Add the EVOO to the large soup pan. Add the zucchini, carrot, bell pepper, shallots and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, (approx 7 to 8 minutes). Return the orzo to the pot.

4. Remove the chicken from the stock. Skim and discard the fat from the stock; transfer the stock to the large soup pan.
   

5. Chop, dice or shred the chicken and add to the soup with 2 cups water.
   

6. Bring the soup to a boil and cook until the orzo is just tender, 5 minutes. Add the peas during the last minute of cooking.
   

7. Turn off the heat; stir in the parsley and lemon peel. Serve immediately.

Additional Notes:
Since I don't like peas or lemon I omitted and it still tastes wonderful!! I think the next time I'll add sweet corn. Also I think this may be turned into a vegetarian dish using vegetable stock (and omitting chicken, which I would add an extra cup of orzo in it's place).