Creamy Orzo with Asparagus & Parmesan

Ignore the chicken in the photo, it was super duper gross and I didnt eat it, but the side dish was the star of the show and I ended up eating that for dinner.....



Creamy Orzo with Asparagus & Parmesan
borrowed from Sugar & Spice with Celeste
Ingredients:
1 cup orzo
1 cup asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 to 1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Bring a large sauce pan of water (filled about halfway) to a boil over medium heat. Cook the orzo until tender, about 10 minutes.

After the orzo has been cooking for about 5 minutes, add the asparagus to the same pot (this will allow the orzo and asparagus to cook in the same pot and keep the clean-up to a minimum!).

Once the orzo and asparagus are cooked and tender, drain and return to the pot.

Quickly add the Parmesan cheese and butter. Stir thoroughly, allowing both the cheese and butter to melt. Slowly add the cream to the mixture, while stirring. Continue to stir and add cream until you reach your desired consistency.

Season with salt and pepper.

VERDICT
YUM--I mean YUM
Who Knew? Really easy, uses only one pot. I could easily make this a meal and I did in fact make this a meal since I couldn't eat my mess of a chicken. Its quite the fancy side dish so you should serve it at a dinner party for sure. I myself don't have dinner parties because we have no dining room thanks to all the toys, books, and baby paraphernalia but someday....someday

Lime Chicken Tacos

I am starting to get the hang of this blog thing, but I have to say taking the photos is not my favorite part. I am so sorry they seem to be quite boring. Tonight once I started eating my blue plate special, and the pictures where taken I thought HEY, I could have put some cut limes on the plate and a margarita in the background! SO my styling of the meals need work but I promise I am just getting my feet wet and the best is yet to come. I did buy single plates and will get some more so that it adds so excitement to the pictures, or as much as you can get from a picture of food.

Tonight's meal......ahhh the crock pot. I will admit, I just really started using it more and more this year. I stumbled upon a few other blogs that had lots and lots of crock pot recipes and I even purchased a cookbook which I never used yet. When Amelia was born I had a lot less time to cook and since it was winter, the crock pot fit right in. I tried to use it at least once or twice a week to help this mamma out. I don't know the exact origins of this recipe but it is so extremely versatile. I have made quesadillas with the cooked chicken, you can use it as a filling for enchiladas, you can use it as a salad topper, it would be great over rice or rice & beans, you can add other things to it like beans or roasted veggies. For me its a staple recipe that everyone should use at least once a week because its that simple and that good!

Lime Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts *can also be put in frozen

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup chunky salsa

12 flour tortillas (6 inches)

*Optional

Sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and shredded lettuce, mango chunks, green onion

Directions:

Place the chicken in a 3-qt. slow cooker ( I use a giant 6 qt one and its fine). Combine lime juice and chili powder; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken; cool slightly. Shred and return to the slow cooker. Stir in corn and salsa. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve in tortillas with sour cream, cheese and lettuce if desired.
Makes: 12 tacos.

CONFESSION: Oopsie! I didn't read the directions this afternoon I literally looked at the ingredients and threw it all in the crock pot at once and set it on high for 3 hours (because it was 2pm and I forgot I was making this recipe tonight oopsie! again). They came out perfect so you can follow the directions as is, or just throw it in and forget about it.

VERDICT: Obviously we all love this recipe. Jackson ate some with rice so it earned the toddler seal of approval, but he barely made a dent in the bowl.....ahh toddlers.