Main dish: Creamy Orzo with Chicken, Mushrooms and Red Peppers

Let me just start out by telling you that I stole this recipe from my BFF Chelcie! (THANKS SOOOO MUCH GIRL!!!) She found it under one of our favorite food blogs http://www.melskitchencafe.com I read the title and knew instantly that our family would LOVE this! And let me tell you...this dish was AMAZING!!! Everyone gobbled it right up and I had never thought to use cream cheese as a a base for a cream sauce! LOVED the idea and I can't wait to play with it more...so many meats, veggies & pastas so little time! :) I some how want to incorporate asparagus. I think it would taste amazing with this sauce, but this dish already has a lot going on. Anyway, it came together pretty quickly and I served it with a Ceasar salad and cheesy jalapeno bread! I hope you get a chance to put this one on your menu soon! You won't regret it! (Btw, I had it again for lunch today....Oh. My. Word. YUM!)

Creamy Orzo with Chicken, Mushrooms and Red Peppers

*Note: this pasta is best served immediately as it tends to get less creamy as it sits at room temperature – so serve warm right as it finishes cooking! (I heated it up the next day & it looked a little dry, so just be sure to add a touch of water before warming & get gets all creamy again.)

*Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 average-sized chicken breasts (about 1 to 1 ½ pounds), cut into chunks
2 red bell peppers, cut into ½-inch pieces
8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 pound orzo pasta
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (can use 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
1 cup reserved pasta water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook according to package directions until tender. When the orzo is ready, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water (ladling it into a small bowl is my method) and then drain the orzo and set aside.

While the orzo cooks, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot oil and brown on all sides. When nicely browned (but not all the way cooked through), add the peppers, mushrooms and thyme. Stir and let cook for about 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the mushrooms and peppers have softened and browned and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

In the skillet over medium heat, add the softened cream cheese (if you forgot to let the cream cheese soften at room temperature, no worries! Pop it in the microwave for one minute on 40% power) in bite sized chunks and stir so that the cream cheese melts and coats the chicken and vegetables. Add the reserved pasta water and bring to a simmer. Add ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Stir. Add the orzo, Parmesan, lemon juice and fresh parsley. Stir to combine and heat through. Garnish with additional Parmesan and parsley.

My sweet friend Alyssa came over after school to hang out and help me do some cooking...she is the GREATEST grater ever!!! LOVE YOU ALYS!!! I'm sooo cheesy! (Pun intended!) ;)