During a lunch break at a seminar, I was talking to a few ladies about (brace yourself for the shocker) food. They all said it was easier to buy frozen meals or grab takeout than to cook their own meals. When I insisted it didn’t take that much longer to make a meal from scratch than to wait for takeout, they scoffed. Yes, dear readers, they scoffed! When I pointed out that the meal I was eating only required five ingredients (orzo not pictured above…mostly because it was cooking when I shot it) and took me only about 15 minutes to make, they were shocked.
After that conversation, I decided to share some of my favorite fast recipes (hence the reason this entry is titled “1”). You know, the dishes you throw together when you’re tired but still want something good. And for me, orzo dishes fall easily into this category.
2 cups basil leaves
1 shallot or scallion, diced
Sun-dried tomatoes, packed in herbed olive oil
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 cups cooked orzo (amount of orzo depends on how many you plan on feeding).
Cook the orzo according to the package, drain and set aside. Chop the shallot, basil and sun dried tomatoes, reserving some of the olive oil for the pan. Place the pan on the stove at medium heat, pour in the reserved olive oil and add the shallots first. Saute for a minute or two (until the shallots start to go soft) and then toss in the tomatoes. Continue to saute for another minute, adding the basil before tossing in the cooked orzo. Reduce the heat to low and continue tossing the ingredients together until everything is evenly coated. Salt and pepper to taste before serving and top with the cheese!
Not only is this an incredibly easy dish to make, it tastes as if you’ve actually spent a lot of time on it. So have no shame about passing it off as an elegant dish at a party…
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Adventures in Shaw 
Yeah, those non-cooks are a frustrating bunch, aren’t they? I think they have it simply in their heads that they CAN’T cook and thus they come up with a myriad of excuses not to. I don’t get that. Your orzo recipe is a perfect example of something easy to do. You don’t have to be a gourmet to make a simple recipe. And some people are just plain lazy.
My mother in law is one of those who doesn’t cook. Her excuse though is that she (says) she spends less money going out for meals every night than she would if she had to buy ingredients to cook a meal. Another myth.
Yeah, I feel really bad for these poor people. They have no idea what they are missing!
Your orzo sounds really yummy. I love orzo!
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i love orzo but somehow i can’t seem to find it! when i do, i’ll be sure to make this. looks absolutely yummy. simple ingredients, just the way i like it.
RecipeGirl – You would have thought I made gold the way those women reacted to the dish. I think a lot of people just get intimidated easily and don’t have the patience for cooking. I have zero patience in every other aspect of my life, but get me in the kitchen and I’m cool, calm and collected…And the cost excuse is such a cop out!
JennDZ – Congrats on your recent nuptials and thanks for the welcome!
Diva – Oh my god! If I couldn’t have orzo whenever I wanted, I’d move…(sadly) I’m totally serious! Orzo is one of my favorite things to whip up because it’s so easy and you can do so many things with it. Maybe we should get a foodie collection going to keep you in orzo for months!
So simple and yet so tasty. Sundried tomatoes and cheese make everything good. 🙂