Cheesy Orzo Pasta (Simple Side Dish)

The Imaginative One turned 13 last month.  A tradition in our house is for me to cook one of the birthday boy’s favorite meals for their birthday.  We had the Imaginative One’s dinner the day after his birthday because we had planned to be out on his birthday.

So what is one of the Imaginative One’s favorite meals?  He loves ham and corn.  So that’s what we had plus this simple side dish.  Everyone in my house loved this dish.

In my house, Hubby and the Wee One could live on rice with butter and salt.  Okay maybe they couldn’t live on it.  It’s one of their favorite side dishes.

The Imaginative One does not really like rice.  When he does eat rice, he’ll eat one grain of rice at a time.  So I tried to find a rice like side dish but made pasta instead.  Enter orzo pasta.

Orzo pasta is shaped like rice but is a pasta.  I use it in my Spanish style chicken noodle soup.

If you are looking for a great side dish, try this recipe.

Cheesy Orzo Pasta

(source)

Stars of the recipe:

• 1 & 3/4 c. chicken broth
• 1/2 pound orzo pasta
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1.  

   In a saucepan, bring the broth to a boil.

2. Stir in the orzo.  Reduce heat to medium-low.
3. Simmer the orzo and broth uncovered, stirring every once in awhile.  The orzo should not be dry.  Instead it should be thick and syrupy.  Add 1/4 c. chicken broth if it looks dry.
4. After the orzo is done cooking, remove the pan from the burner.
5. Add the cheese, salt, and pepper.  Stir.
6. Garnish with more cheese.
7. Serve immediately!

You could change up the cheese depending what you are having for dinner.  Just use shredded cheese instead of grated cheese.

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I hope you have a great day.  Thanks for reading my blog post.  

Happy eating,
Traci