Greek Chicken with Orzo | The Greekish Life

Eat and Drink

One Pan Greek Chicken and Orzo

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For our first recipe of this month of Mediterranean diet meals, let's have something easy, hearty and delicious - Greek chicken with orzo! It's all done in one pan and in about 30 minutes, more or less.

That's a hard-to-beat combination for a work night dinner!

Orzo is one of those things I try to always have in my pantry. It cooks in no time and can be combined with so many things - spinach, mushrooms, tomato sauce, veggies, pork, chicken - you name it, and it probably works with orzo.

It's a great way to make what I like to call a "clean-up" meal; take those random orphaned things in the fridge that won't quite make a meal on their own (a single leftover chicken breast, four mushrooms, a couple of handfuls of baby kale, or whatever) and throw it in with some orzo.

Ta-da! A simple and satisfying meal, and less waste!

This meal today is a winner for sure. It's flavorful and ridiculously easy. It's even great as leftovers the next day!

I'm giving you the basic recipe, but feel free to add things to it if you like (like those mushrooms or greens).

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Greek Chicken with Orzo

Serves 4

6-8 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless

1 16 oz. box of orzo

1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

generous splash of olive oil for the pan

1/2 white onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/2 tbsp dried oregano

1/2 tbsp dried thyme

1 15 oz. can low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup white wine (White cooking wine is fine. If you don't want to use wine, add another cup of chicken broth or even a cup of water)

3/4 cup pitted kalamata olives

feta cheese, crumbled, to taste

2 tbsp fresh arugula, chopped

1/2 lemon cut into slices or wedges

1. First make the dredge for the chicken. Mix together the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika in a medium-sized bowl.

2. In a large frying pan, heat a splash of olive oil over medium-high heat.

3. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and add to the pan. You want to cook it on each side until it starts to brown a bit and gets crispy. It doesn't need to be cooked through at this point - we'll finish that later on.

4. Take the chicken out and set it aside in a plate.

5. In the frying pan, add another splash of olive oil. Add the garlic and onion, stirring it. Add the red pepper flakes, thyme and oregano and stir again until it all starts smelling fragrant and the onion starts to soften. Add a bit of salt and pepper if desired.

6. Add the orzo to the frying pan. Add the wine and chicken broth and stir. Bring it to a boil. Keep an eye on it at this point and make sure to add a few ounces of water as needed if it looks like the orzo is drying and starting to stick to the pan.

7. Reduce heat to medium and add the chicken back to the pan. Cover it with a lid and let it cook for about 10 minutes, checking every few minutes to stir and make sure the orzo is cooking but not drying out. Add a bit of water as needed and stir again. The chicken will finish cooking at this point, if it wasn't already done.

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8. Garnish with chopped arugula (fresh parsley is good, too), as much or as little crumbled feta as you like (I like a lot!), kalamata olives and lemon wedges. Finish with a squeeze of lemon over the whole pan.