Greek Chicken Orzo Skillet

Remember a million years ago when I made a crap ton of chicken and froze it into different meals (AKA power cooking)? Well, I finally tried one of them. I was scared, I admit it. But it actually came out ok! It's not the epitome of haute cuisine by any means, but definitely better than any other store bought frozen microwaved dinner shenanigans (although I don't know how Weight Watchers does it, but their Smart Ones Three Cheese Ziti is delicious, cheesy, yet low in points heaven - get on it).

Also, Pampered Chef wasn't joking when they said this would make 6 servings - it's 6 large servings, and to be honest with you, I was sick of it after eating it for the third meal in a row. But I also get sick of foods very quickly. Unlike my dear friend Nicole, God love her, who ate the same Chicken Tikka Masala from the same Indian place everyday for a month straight while we were studying for the California Bar Exam. She passed; I didn't. Maybe there was something in the curry.

But I digress - to rehash, here's the recipe from my previous post:

Greek Chicken Orzo Skillet

To prepare and freeze:
1 portion Make-Ahead Chicken
2 medium zucchini, cut into ¼-in. pieces
1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14 oz) garlic and onion flavored diced tomatoes
3 tbsp Greek Rub (substitute with lemon zest, dried oregano, and pepper)
To finish and serve:
2 cans (14 oz each) chicken broth
½ cup water
1 lb uncooked orzo
2 oz crumbled feta cheese
½ cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives (optional)
1. Prepare and freeze

In Bag 1, combine chicken and zucchini.

In Bag 2, combine beans, tomatoes and rub.

Seal Bag 2 and place into Bag 1; seal. Freeze for up to three months.


2. Finish and serve!

To cook and serve from freezer:

Add contents of Bag 2, broth and water to (12-in.) Skillet; cover and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook 8-10 minutes or until mixture comes to a simmer, breaking contents apart as necessary using Bamboo Spatula.
Reduce heat to medium; add orzo. Cover and cook 5 minutes (or halfway through cooking time, according to package directions), stirring occasionally.

Add contents of Bag 1. Cover and cook 5-7 minutes or until orzo is tender and zucchini begins to soften. Remove from heat; top with feta cheese. Sprinkle with olives, if desired.

So let's begin, shall we?

The ingredients: my bag of frozen stuff (as prepared earlier), chicken broth, orzo, feta, olives (not pictured - they're shy).

Add the frozen hunk of bag 2 to some water and chicken broth, cover, and bring to a simmer. It looks kinda sketchy right now. I was nervous.

But then it all melts and looks like this - soup! Reduce heat and dump in the entire box of orzo, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Now, add the other bag, cover, and cook for 5-7 more minutes.

And voila...this is starting to look pretty edible, amirite people? At this point I did a taste test and it was a little bland, so I added some salt and pepper to taste.

Now sprinkle on the feta and olives, and serve.