New Food Friday - Tomato-Feta Chicken with Orzo

Two whole link-ups!  I thought I'd go a little longer on my own, I appreciate the two that linked up last week.  


In case you're new around here, New Food Friday is where we try a new meal and then report back on the success or failure.  Tell us what you'd change and show a picture, it's a great way to add variety to your weekly menu.

Before I started documenting my new recipe's I made this orzo dish that was so bad it was inedible.  It was a bad recipe that we only ate one bite of before throwing it out.  Since then I've had half a bag of orzo I needed to use, this recipe sounded like a good way to do it.

Tomato-Feta Chicken with Orzo

2 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil (I used olive)
3 - 3 1/2 pound cut-up broiler-fryer chicken
1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups frozen small whole onions (I used fresh pearl onions)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup white wine or apple juice (I used apple juice)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (I used cilantro)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh or 1 tsp dried oregano leaves (fresh are expensive, I used dried)
1/8 tsp pepper
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) stewed tomatoes, drained (Can someone please tell me why you ever use whole tomatoes?  They always say to chop with a spoon or cut them with scissors, why not just use diced ones?  That's what I used.  I also just noticed as I was typing this that it says to drain the tomatoes, I didn't do that and was a little surprised how liquid this dish was... draining would definitely fix that... oops.)
3 cups hot cooked rosamarina (orzo) pasta or rice (I used orzo)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in 12 inch skillet or 4 quart Dutch oven over medium heat.  Cook chicken in oil about 15 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides.  Remove chicken from skillet with tongs.
2. Add 1 Tbsp oil to drippings in skillet.  Heat over medium-low heat.  Cook onions in oil mixture about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.  Stir in garlic.  Cook and stir about 30 seconds or until garlic is light golden brown.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients except pasta and cheese, breaking up tomatoes with a fork or snipping with kitchen scissors.  Add chicken.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.
4. Serve tomato mixture over chicken and pasta.  Sprinkle with cheese and, if desired, additional chopped fresh cilantro.

It looked like this until I garnished like the above.

This dish was really delicious, I especially loved the feta on it.  I'll probably make it again but with some modifications just for convenience.  I would just use chicken breasts next time because it's what I had on hand.  The thigh and drumstick was a nice addition but Brad hates cutting around the bone.  I would also just use a regular onion next time because I have them all the time, the pearl onions were nice but I don't think they made a huge difference.  I'd also probably serve this on rice or egg noodles next time, again just because I don't stock orzo regularly and it's sort of hard to find.

Again, it was delicious and Brad really enjoyed about it, I think it even got a cheer (we took a page from Doug's book and we cheer over our good meals).

What did you make this week?  Link up below.