Tomato Orzo Soup

I mentioned in an earlier post that my sister-in-law had introduced us to orzo when she made Tomato & Orzo Soup on a recent visit to our house. It was super yummy and Daniel even liked it {which is a big deal since he is not a fan of tomato soup}. I have this made several times since Amy left and have finally settled on a variation that we really love.

Thanks Amy for introducing us to orzo!

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 carrots, cut into quarter-inch rounds
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 32 oz chicken stock
• 2 {14.5 oz} cans of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cups orzo
• salt and pepper to taste
• cayenne pepper if you like it hot {Amy likes it hot, we are good with a dash}

Directions:

• Heat stock pot on medium-high heat.
• Coat bottom of pan with oil.
• Add carrots and sauté for a couple of minutes.
• Add onion and celery and continue to sauté.
• Finally add garlic.
• Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
• Add orzo and cook for 9 minutes. I found that the orzo sticks to the bottom of the pan, so stir it frequently.
• Purée one of the cans of tomatoes, then add both cans to the pot.
• Add milk and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

This soup is perfect for a cold day. Serve with a warm baguette and a side of salad {or just enjoy a piping hot bowl}.

Recipe: Turkey, Vegetable and Orzo soup

My sister-in-law recently introduced me to Orzo. It is found in the pasta aisle, but it looks like a large-grain rice. She made a Tomato Orzo soup that Daniel and I really enjoyed and I have worked to recreate it. I plan to post this recipe another time but I want to try a couple more variations first. 

Anyways, I had leftover turkey from a turkey dinner I cooked last week and I decided that Turkey and Dumplings would hit the spot on a cold day in January. While looking through my cupboards for ingredients, I realized that I had some leftover Orzo and decided to use it in lieu of dumplings. I love dumplings, but the Orzo turned out to be a good alternative.

I based my recipe on this Chicken and Dumpling recipe from The Way The Cookie Crumbles. I highly recommend the Chicken and Dumplings, but if you have leftover turkey or want to try something new, this Turkey, Vegetable and Orzo soup was delicious.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut in quarter-inch rounds
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• ¼ cup red wine
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth {I used 4 cups leftover from boiling my turkey and 2 cups of chicken stock from the store}
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon parsley leaves
• 1 pound of turkey {I used what I got off the bone after boiling and removing from the bone}
• table salt and ground black pepper
• 3/4 box of Orzo

Directions

• Saute the onion, carrots and celery in the olive oil.
• Add turkey {or chicken} stock and red wine and bring to a boil.
• Add leftover turkey, salt, pepper, thyme and parsley and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Turn stove to high and bring to a rolling boil. 
• Add the Orzo and cook for an additional 9 minutes. 

Yields 6 meal-size servings.