Review- Chicken Scallopini with Orzo, tomato, and zucchini toss 4/03

[Leonard]

I made this entire dinner from page 194 from April 2003. It was delicous! The chicken remained incredibly moist. It reminded me of the taste and texture of the recipe for Chicken Scampi from CL. DH and I both commented that we could have eaten 2 breasts each. The side dish of orzo was the best!! I've made orzo in the past and haven't been that impressed. The prep took all of 3 minutes and the flavors were great! The saute garlic really comes through. This is indeed a great weeknight dinner. A repeater for me!

[valchemist]

thanks for the review. especially of that side dish which I had overlooked. :)

[patsyk]

Oh, I am so happy to see a good review of this because I am planning on making it tonight for dinner - orzo and all! For once I was able to decide to do this w/o going to the grocery because I actually have all the ingredients on hand this week! If DH likes it, and it's as easy as it looks, it'll be repeated often.

Thanks for the review! :D

[MKSquared]

I'll put in a vote for the orzo here, too. :) I omitted the tomatoes when I made it, though. I was worried about the zucchini being bitter, but it wasn't at all! If you have leftover orzo, it comes together really, really quickly. The garlic flavor does really come through, just like Patti/Leonard says! Yummy!

[patsyk]

I made this meal last night and the chicken was great! Super easy to prepare and tasty as well! My DH didn't care as much for the orzo... he is a little biased on another orzo dish that his mom and I prepare so, I'll have to make orzo only in that way for him, I guess. :o

Anyway, just wanted to add another good review on the chicken dish... it's going to be repeated frequently due to how easy it is to make! :D

[memartha]

Well, that does it. I'll have to get the April issue. This dinner sounds great. Thanks for all the good reviews. Martha

[lhall]

I made the chicken on Tuesday. It was very good, nice and moist and very fast to make. I would do this again.

Leigh

[deb]

Would someone mind posting the ingredients and amounts for the chicken and orzo dishes? I would
like to make this tonight but would need to stop at the grocery store on the way home. Thanks!

[valchemist]

here is the side dish recipe...


* Exported from MasterCook *

Orzo, Tomato, and Zucchini Toss

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Side Dish

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 tsp olive oil
1 c halved cherry tomatoes
1 c chopped zucchini
2 clove garlic -- minced
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
3 c cooked orzo

heat oil in a medium skillet over medium high. add tomatoes, zucchini, and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. stir in italian seasoning and red pepper. and saute for 1 minute or until zucchini is crisp-tender. Combine tomatoe mixture, orzo , and salt. toss well.

Source:
"Cooking Light Dinner Tonight, April 2003, page 194"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 184 Calories; 2g Fat (10.1% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 35g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 139mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fat.



and here are the ingredients for the chicken:

4 6-oz chicken breast halves
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
4 tsp capers
1 tbsp butter
salt
pepper

[deb]

That was quick Valchemist. Thanks so much!

[1MegMeg]

I made this last night, and while I loved the chicken I was not that impressed with the orzo. The chicken was very easy to make, stayed moist and had a great flavor. The orzo was also easy to prepare, but it was just kind of blah to me.

Will definitely repeat this with a different side dish. :)

[penguin]

Originally posted by 1MegMeg
I made this last night, and while I loved the chicken I was not that impressed with the orzo. The chicken was very easy to make, stayed moist and had a great flavor. The orzo was also easy to prepare, but it was just kind of blah to me.

Will definitely repeat this with a different side dish. :)

One idea for the orzo is to cook it in chicken broth instead of water. I have been making a similar orzo pilaf of my own creation for a few years and my recipe uses chicken broth. This lends more flavor to the orzo. I do want to try the chicken recipe though, as it sounds quite yummy.

[1MegMeg]

Originally posted by penguin


One idea for the orzo is to cook it in chicken broth instead of water. I have been making a similar orzo pilaf of my own creation for a few years and my recipe uses chicken broth. This lends more flavor to the orzo. I do want to try the chicken recipe though, as it sounds quite yummy.

Great idea! Thanks Amy :D

[ReneeV]

Hurray!:D Glad everyone liked the chicken.

This is what I have planned for dinner tonight. I have a 5lb bag of new potatoes. Any recipes for new potatoes that would compliment this chicken recipe?

Renée

[valchemist]

another idea for orzo (a totally different recipe) is to cook it in just enough water so that you don't have to drain it. it ends up with a risotto-like quality. here is a recipe that I just posted on another thread. You can vary the amount of oil and cheese and add veggies if you like.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Simple Cheese Orzo

Recipe By : Pam Anderson
Serving Size : 2 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Side Dish

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 pound orzo -- (1 1/3 cups)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
ground black pepper

Bring 1 quart (exactly) of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the salt and the orzo. Boil until orzo is tender and has absorbed the cooking liquid, 8 to 9 minutes. Stir in the oil, parmesan, and pepper to taste.

Source:
"How to Cook Without a Book"

[penguin]

Originally posted by ReneeV
Hurray!:D Glad everyone liked the chicken.

This is what I have planned for dinner tonight. I have a 5lb bag of new potatoes. Any recipes for new potatoes that would compliment this chicken recipe?

Renée


How about this one? It calls for red potatoes, but new potatoes might work also. I don't think I have ever tried it with new potatoes, but I have made it a number of times. Very quick, easy & yummy!


Rosemary Potatoes

If you like the flavor of roasted potatoes, but want them on your table sooner, try this microwave version.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1-1/2 pounds red potatoes, quartered (about 4 cups)

Directions:
Place butter and garlic in an 8-inch square baking dish. Microwave at MEDIUM-HIGH (70% power) 45 seconds or until butter melts. Add rosemary, salt, pepper, and potatoes; toss well. Cover and microwave at HIGH 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Servings/Serving Size: Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup).

Nutrition Facts (per Serving):
155 calories; 29 g carbohydrates; 8 mg cholesterol; 3.1 g fat; 182 mg sodium; 3.9 g protein; 30 mg calcium; 2.4 mg iron; 3.2 g fiber

[ReneeV]

Oh yeah, I forgot all about that potato recipe. Thank you, Amy!

That will go perfectly with the Chicken Scallopini. That and a green salad and dinner is complete.

Renée

[swquilts]

I had this on my weekly menu for last night, but to tell you the truth I was too danged tired from weekend yard work to pound out chicken breasts! DH seasoned the chicken with some Penzey's Greek and just grilled them.

I did make the Orzo, Tomato and Zucchini dish. Although I must admit I added a box of sliced mushrooms too. They had to be eaten. Oh, another confession, I also added about 1/3 cup of some Parano cheese (from Whole Foods, a nutty cheese like parmesan, veryyyy good!). This dish was great! The orzo takes on the flavors of the vegetables and garlic. DH says I can make it again! I can hardly wait until my garden starts producing tomatos and squash.

[ReneeV]

I made the chicken last night, but I did end up serving it with the microwaved rosemary/garlic new potatoes. The chicken was a real winner! (We already loved the potato recipe.)

My only issue with this recipe, is prep time. Maybe I'm just slow in the kitchen, but by the time I washed and timmed, pounded, breaded and fried the chicken, prepared the potatoes, made a toss salad and prepared the sauce for the chicken, this took over an hour. Not exactly a quick meal. I think alot of times when they "time" these meals in a test kitchen, it's under ideal circumstances. As someone said in another thread on this topic, they're not digging around the fridge and cupboard for ingreadients and I'm sure they're chopping and prep technique are more accomplished than mine!

A keeper for sure, but probably NOT on a weeknight.

Renée

[ElinorC]

We loved this dinner. The chicken was very moist and the orzo tasted great. The orzo recipe was siimilar to a previous orzo recipe with goat cheese. I prefer this quicker one.

[Peggy]

This dinner was easy, easy, easy and very good! Made both recipes for dinner tonight and everyone was pleased!

Peggy

[SusanL]

PatsyK
My DH didn't care as much for the orzo... he is a little biased on another orzo dish that his mom and I prepare so, I'll have to make orzo only in that way for him, I guess. Which one is that?;)

[jpap]

I know most of you are already into May, but I wanted to bump this up to say I recommend this highly. I did make some changes, I served it with Far east couscous with pinenuts and added diced onion to the tomato mixture. I also made extra sauce. This has been repeated three times, and DH said it tasted like restaurant quality.

[semmens]

I made this (both the chicken and orzo) tonight and it was a huge hit!

Laura
delurking

[reneehoarle]

and it was a big hit here. Even my picky 5 and 2 year olds enjoyed the chicken!

[aggie94]

Another thumbs up for both recipes! I made these tonight and agree that it's a fantastic weeknight dinner. My only changes to the orzo were using summer squash (my grocery store was out of zucchini :confused: ) and grape tomatoes instead of cherry. I agree that cooking it in chicken or veggie broth would enhance the flavor tremendously, but it was still a nice complement to the flavorful chicken. The chicken recipe I think I made as written, adding a teaspoon of Italian seasoning to my plain breadcrumbs instead of buying pre-seasoned breadcrumbs.

Delicious and easy!

[LaraW]

We had this for dinner tonight as well.

Here is my question: how do you all cook chicken on top of the stove like this and not burn the coating? I always seem to burn the coating, and that makes me shy away from recipes like this.

Any tips? I really think I'd like this, but I had to scrape a lot of the coating off.

[penguin]

Originally posted by LaraW
We had this for dinner tonight as well.

Here is my question: how do you all cook chicken on top of the stove like this and not burn the coating? I always seem to burn the coating, and that makes me shy away from recipes like this.

Any tips? I really think I'd like this, but I had to scrape a lot of the coating off.

Lara, I can think of a few possibilities: either the heat is too high or the chicken isn't pounded flat enough and takes too long to cook. I have never had a problem with the coating burning, but I would imagine a thicker piece of chicken that takes longer to cook would be more susceptible to burning. Here's another thought: I use non-stick pans so perhaps if the pan isn't non-stick, the chicken burns easier?

Maybe someone else has other ideas for you, 'cause I don't know that I really helped you much. :rolleyes:

[LaraW]

Originally posted by penguin


Lara, I can think of a few possibilities: either the heat is too high or the chicken isn't pounded flat enough and takes too long to cook.

Well, it is entirely possible that the heat was too high - DH was cooking this while I was making the orzo and I think he is programmed to cook everything on "high" :rolleyes:

I turned the burner down to Medium High, but maybe the pan was already too hot.

[penguin]

Originally posted by LaraW
DH was cooking this while I was making the orzo and I think he is programmed to cook everything on "high" :rolleyes:

Mine is often that way, too, especially with the grill. He is in such a hurry to cook the food so he can eat it. :) That probably explains why DH doesn't like baking. It is a much longer process than cooking and he doesn't have the patience for it.