Since the weather is colder the dishes that require an oven can now again be added to the menu. I love seafood and shrimp is probably my favorite. I have orzo in my pantry but don’t use it often enough. It is a small but filling pasta.

I used fresh shrimp for the recipe but you can use frozen just as easily. This dish was an adaptation of one I found at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.

Ingredients

2 pounds of shrimp peeled and deveined
1/2 cup of chopped yellow onions
1 tsp of olive oil
1 tsp of Italian seasoning
3 cloves of garlic finely minced
1 pound of orzo pasta(uncooked)
4 cups of low sodium chicken broth
1 cup of water
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 cup feta cheese crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking pan
3. Pat shrimp dry and lightly season with salt and pepper. Set aside
4. In a 4 quart pot combine the onion, oil, Italian seasoning and 1/2 tsp salt over medium heat. Cover the pot and cook stirring occasionally until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute
5. Stir in the orzo, increase the heat until the orzo is coated with the above ingredients (5 minutes)
6. Stir in the broth and water until the orzo is slightly tender (10-14 minutes). Stir in the tomatoes and shrimp- cook for about 10 minutes

7. Pour the mixture into the baking pan. Sprinkle the feta cheese evenly over the top

8.Bake the casserole until the shrimp are cooked through and the cheese is lightly brown (18-20 minutes)

9. Serve immediately and may use a lemon wedge if you like