Pizza Party – Chicken Orzo and Seeds n’ Sprouts Salad

The Less Food the More Leftover

A very sweet older couple in our neighborhood invited us over for dinner when we moved into our house years ago.  We arrived (hungry of course) and saw 3 of the smallest bowls of salads I have ever seen on the table for dinner.  We sat around commenting profusely on how lovely and delicious it looked.  We sat down and all took tiny portions as not to empty any of the bowls.  As you know, there is an unwritten rule never to take the last serving of food when you are in a group.  We were all so afraid to eat that there were tons of leftovers.  It was a modern day loaves and fishes miracle.

If you were at the dinner table with my mother and nobody was eating the last piece of food on the plate, she would say with attitude, “What, are we going to POSE with this piece of chicken?!”.  Most times people would rather leave food on the serving dish (to be thrown away) than take the last portion.  This was true at my pizza party on Friday night.  The kids ate so much pizza that there were only 7 slices left for 5 adults.  What happened?  There were still 2 slices left after dinner.  I guess my mom was right….smile for the camera!

Chicken Orzo Salad:  Grab a rotisserie chicken for this recipe.  I like to use mostly just the breast but you can use it all or save the dark meat for chicken salad.  Use a butcher knife to cut chicken into pieces (gives a cleaner cut).

• Cook 2 ½ cups of orzo.  Drain (drip a little olive oil on it so it doesn’t stick together).
• Cup up 1 rotisserie chicken (chunky bite-size) and place into large bowl.
• Dice a variety of veggies (about ½ cup each) and add into bowl (I used peeled celery, yellow pepper, cherry tomato halves, and a little scallion)
• Chop some fresh parsley and zest one lemon and toss into bowl with vinaigrette
• Vinaigrette (use a small jar to mix):  Mix ¼ cup of red wine vinegar, 1 tsp mustard, lemon juice (1 lemon), 1 tsp honey.  Add 3/4 cup of EV Olive oil and salt/pepper — Shake!

Seeds n’ Sprouts Salad

• Cut up orange pepper into slivers and toss into big bowl of salad (baby romaine/mixed greens).
• Sprinkle sunflower seeds on salad.
• Toss some sprouts on top.
• Use vinaigrette from Chicken Orzo and mix all together.

How Can the Kids Help?

• Let them watch you take the chicken breast off the bone and explain about white and dark meat.  Ask them to try both and tell you which they prefer.
• Clean seeds out of peppers
• Zest the lemon and squeeze the juice
• Measure honey and mustard for dressing
• Peel and cut extra celery for snacking

Did You Know?

• The University of Texas Cancer Center found that cancer cells were “99 percent inhibited” by the mix of live sprouts (mainly broccoli seeds).  How’s that for a positive link between food and cancer?
• Nuts and seeds have high levels of essential fatty acids.  These are good fats and when eaten in moderation will help you lose weight!