Lemon Chicken & Orzo Soup with Sweet Cornbread

We had friends over the other night and I made an enormous (and I really mean eee-nor-mous) pot of this soup.  We had so much left over after we all partook that I sent them home with a quart of it, froze another quart, and then ate the rest of it all week while Elliott was out of town.  Lena ate it with me, sweet little thang.

(Why does she have two spoons and three cups?!)

Anyway, I was thinking of all my East Coast friends who are stuck in Hurricane Sandy and this sounded like a cozy meal to enjoy tonight.  If you've still got power (and can read this) and also have the ingredients (hah?), here are both delicious recipes:

Lemon Chicken & Orzo Soup

adapted from this recipe / serves 8

Ingredients

• 3lbs chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces (thank you, Emily W!)
• 4.5 cups low-sodium or homemade chicken broth 
• 4.5 cups water
• 1 1/3 cups chopped carrot 
• 1 1/4 cups chopped onion 
• 1 cup chopped celery 
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 8 ounces uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (or 2 T dried parsley)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• Lemon wedges (optional)
• Coarsely cracked black pepper (optional)

Directions

• Mix water and chicken broth in a large pot.  Add carrot, onion, celery, and salt to pan.
• Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. 
• Add reserved chicken, and simmer 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Keep warm.
• Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. 
• Add pasta to pan with chicken and broth mixture; stir in parsley, rind, and juice. 
• Garnish each serving with lemon wedges and cracked black pepper, if desired. 

Sweet Golden Cornbread

adapted from this recipe / makes one 9-inch pan

 

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup yellow cornmeal 2/3 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon salt 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 egg 1 cup milk 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Spray or lightly grease a 9-inche round cake pan.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
• Stir in egg, milk, and vegetable oil until well combined.
• Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

I'm linking up with 33 Shades of Green and Not Just a Housewife today.  This means those two websites have compiled a list of lots of bloggers who are posting tasty recipes or interesting crafts today.