Do you ever get to a point while you are cooking when you discover that you have a great ‘main’ dish but you catch yourself saying – “What can I serve this with??”
That’s kind of where we were at when it came to this recipe. I didn’t get to the supermarket this week. I prefer to go myself, rather than get a delivery or curbside pickup. I know what kind of millennial am I??
Anyway – I had some great Lemon-Pepper Chicken baking away in the oven but nothing to pair it with. So I gathered some ingredients that I had in the back of my pantry and fridge and got to cooking.
Dried cranberries – check!
Sliced Almonds – check!
Orzo pasta – check!
Celery – check!
I always have on hand – plenty of onions, lemons so I tossed them into the ‘mix’ as well. So here we go…..This is what we ended up with and it actually was pretty tasty.
Lemon-pepper chicken is here as well!
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup orzo pasta, cooked in chicken broth, drained
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup sliced almonds
- 3 Tbsp. sliced fresh basil
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Directions:
- Melt butter with olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook for 4 minutes or until onions are translucent and golden brown. Add celery; cook for 4 more minutes.
- Combine orzo, celery mixture, cranberries, pecans, basil, lemon juice salt and pepper in a bowl; toss gently to combine.
Enjoy – see you in the Kitchen!
Newlywed In the Kitchen 
One thought on “Orzo “Stuffing” with Celery, Cranberries and Almonds”