Toasted Orzo with Peas and Parmesan (#1)

First recipes that makes the list is Toasted Orzo with Peas and Parmesan. This recipe comes from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. She has a ton of great recipes on her site and this one will not be the last one I promise. I made this as a vegetarian main course and it was so creamy and yummy!

Toasted Orzo with Peas and Parmesan
Serves 4-6 (as a side dish)

*Be careful when adding the broth to the pan, because it will create a lot of steam.
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 ¼ cups orzo
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley leaves
Ground black pepper
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving (optional)


Directions:
Melt the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and ¾ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the orzo and cook, stirring often, until most of the grains are golden, about 5 minutes. Carefully stir in the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally until all of the liquid has been absorbed and the orzo is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. (Be careful not to cook at too high of heat at this point because the liquid will evaporate instead of cook the orzo and you’ll be left with undercooked pasta.)
Off the heat, stir in the peas, Parmesan, and parsley and let sit until the peas are warmed through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the lemon wedges.
Recipe Source: adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Best Skillet Recipes

What is Perfect Dinner Project?

Good question! Perfect Dinner Project is my own quest for the perfect dinner recipes. The idea is to find 365 recipes that are delicious (not just OK) so that my family can rotate through them and have variety as well as fabulous dinner. If it's 4★ rating or above it will go on the list. Just so you and I are on the same page, here is my rating system:

5★ = Absolute Perfection! If this recipe was on a restaurant menu, I would order it EVERY SINGLE TIME, it's that good! Other people rave about it every time I make it and always ask for the recipe.

4½ ★= Almost perfection. There is probably nothing I could do to make it a 5★ recipe but it comes pretty close. On a restaurant menu I would order it often, but not every time because I like variety. People still rave about it and will probably ask for the recipe.

4★= Really good. Everybody likes it and it tastes great!

3½ ★= Good but just not good enough to go on the PDP list.

3★= Just OK. Some people will like it and some people won't. Bland. Would make if in a dire pinch and had the ingredients on hand. Before I became a foodie, I would say most of my recipes fell into this category. Nothing to be ashamed about just OK food happens.

2★= Edible but we didn't like it. Won't make it again

1★= I'm sorry I even made this recipe. I will NEVER make it again and it will probably go into the trash.

 About me: Stay-at-home-Mom of one little one. I have always been interesting in cooking but only started when I met my husband. On our first date, I read the instructions on how to boil spaghetti. I've come a long way!

I scour the internet and cookbook to try different recipes. We rarely have the same thing twice since I just like to try new things all the time. Even the 5★ recipes we've only had a handful of times. My philosophy is simple and easy if it's possible. I only do time consuming meals if they are worth the effort. I try and cook healthy but once in a while, I like to splurge. I like variety so my list will (hopefully) be full of variety; chicken, beef, seafood, and vegetarian.  I just want to make a good list of perfect dinners so that every day, anybody can have a good solid list of recipes they know will turn out fabulous.