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South Korea Part Two: Going for Gold.
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When you need something bright, cozy, and low-effort, this one-skillet chicken and orzo hits the spot. Think crispy seared chicken, caramelized lemon, and garlicky, butter-kissed orzo that soaks up all the flavor.
It’s weeknight-easy, pantry-friendly, and pretty enough to bring right to the table. Grab a lemon (Meyer if you’ve got it), a handful of greens, and let the oven finish the work.
You guys, I am not going to lie, at this point I really don’t even know what day it is. This entire time I’ve been in South Korea, I think I have asked what day it is and what the time is over and over again. South Korea is one day and sixteen hours ahead of MST, so the jet leg struggle was, and is, real. Because of work, I needed to be going back and forth between US time and Korean time and for me, it just got way too confusing.
By the time you all read this I should hopefully be home, as I am heading out in a couple of hours with a few family members along with me. I am currently writing this post while sitting in a hotel room in Seoul, trying to catch up on work…and scrolling through all the AMAZING comments, social media tags, and press from the last three days. It’s truly amazing. Thanks for the support you all are showing my brother. He’s living up this gold medal win (well sort of, the jet lag on this quick trip cannot be fun) and traveling around with my brother Malachi, doing a quick US press tour. However, they’ll both be back on a plane to South Korea in a couple of days, as Red needs to start practice for Men’s Snowboard Big Air.
Crazy, crazy ride those two are on…
I mean, did you catch Red on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night? Here’s the link if you’d like to watch.
And that’s your quick Red and Kai update for the day. Let’s talk food, because you know, that is what I do best.
While the food here in South Korea has been awesome…there’s been a lot of Korean Beef, ramen, and we had some amazing dumplings yesterday in Seoul…I must say, I’m looking forward to heading home and cooking up some of my favorite comfort meals, like this easy one skillet chicken dinner.
I made this before we left for Korea and it was the perfect easy, healthy, cozy dinner to eat the day before a long flight. Plus, it’s full of carbs, lemon, and veggies, so very much my kind of food.
The chicken is pan seared along with some fresh lemon slices and a little butter. The chicken becomes crispy, and the lemon slices caramelize, making them sweet enough to eat. I am aware that eating the whole lemon, peel and all, is still a little odd to many of you, but try it out this way. I promise, it’s so good.
The chicken and lemon alone could be an awesome recipe, classic and delicious, but me being me, I needed to add a little more to the recipe, so in came the orzo.
I mean, obviously, you have to have the carbs, you just do.
You could certainly use quinoa or another grain, but if I were you, I’d go with the orzo. It’s just fitting with this recipe and so delicious in the lemon butter sauce.
This recipe is not only delicious, it’s also super easy…one skillet, under an hour, and uses mostly pantry staple ingredients.
Cool. Cool.
It’s a crowd pleaser, and actually comes out of the oven looking relatively pretty. I threw on some fresh dill for color and served the chicken and orzo up right out of the skillet. Perfect for easy weeknight dinners or even entertaining.
Also, I get a lot of questions about what my favorite cast iron skillet is…I always, always use Staub. The ten and twelve inch are my favorites, I used the twelve inch for this recipe.
If I wasn’t getting home so late tonight, I’d for sure be making this for dinner. Instead, this will definitely be on my table as Friday night’s meal.
Can’t wait to start getting caught up on everything at home. Sorry for being MIA with comments this past week, I will be catching up soon. Thanks for all the messages!
Watch the How To Video Here:
One Skillet Lemon Butter Chicken and Orzo
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 337 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound chicken breasts or small thighs
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 Meyer or regular lemon, sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 a bunch kale, roughly torn
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.2. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven or cast iron skillet set over medium high heat. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken and sear on both sides until golden, about 3-5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the skillet. 3. To the same skillet, add the butter and lemon slices. Sear the lemon until golden on each side, about 1 minute. Remove the lemon from the pan and add to the plate with the chicken. 4. To the same skillet, add the garlic and orzo. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and the orzo toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Add the wine to the skillet and de-glaze the pan. Add the chicken broth, kale, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir. Slide the chicken, lemon slices, and any juices left on the pan back into the skillet. Transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.4. Serve the chicken topped with fresh dill and lemon zest. EAT!
Chicken dinner for the win…or the GOLD?! I dunno, but clearly I am still way too excited that my brother is an Olympic Gold Medalist. No big deal or anything…
This post was originally published on February 15, 2018
Great potential but recipe called for far too much liquid. Resulted in orzo/chicken soup. I will try again with half the stock.
Hey there,
So sorry you did not enjoy this recipe, please let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
This was the delicious meal it was so easy to make everything was all done in the oven the flavor with lemon really goes with it and and it also goes with quinoa I give this recipe a thumbs up ?
Hey Caroline,
Thanks so much! I am so glad the recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan
Hey, this looks amazing as all of your recipes are!! Is it possible to make a creamy version of this? We just had the creamy sun-dried tomato with orzo of yours and loved it so much! Thank you!
Hey Jody,
Sure you could add some cream here if you wanted. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Can’t wait to try this!! If I’m making this recipe for a smaller group, will it still work if I half all the ingredients?
You bet! I hope you love the recipe Megan, let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
This looks amazing! I’m planning to make it for my mom when I visit her in, FL. They have an electric skillet at their place (with lid). Could the last 15 minutes of cooking in the house oven be modified by turning down the heat & allowing to cooking with the lid on? Or do you think the oven is best to dry out the orzo & warm up the chicken?
Thanks!
Hey Roxane,
Yes, that will work just fine! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
This is me and my husband’s favorite dish. We make it once a week!!
Hey Abbi,
I am thrilled this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! ?xTieghan
So good every time!
Thanks so much! xTieghan
If I substitute dry pasta shells for the orzo would I need to adjust the recipe (cooking time/liquid,etc)? Or would it be better to use cooked pasta shells?
Hey Natalie,
As long as you are using a small noodle like macaroni, you should be fine to follow the recipe as is! I hope you love the dish! xTieghan
We made this last night and it was awesome! My 18 month old who doesn’t usually love meat, kept wanting more and more of the chicken. She loved all of this, even the kale! It was a proud mama moment. I even used the grain free risoni from Trader Joe’s. The whole family loved it! We’ll make it again. Thank you!
Hey Christina,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! ☘️ xTieghan
This was easy, quick and tasty. I gave it one less star because I didn’t like the texture of the orzo. Nothing against the recipe, I just realized I don’t like orzo. It was just kind of slippery, with no texture or ‘bite’. If I were to make this again I’d use rice. I didn’t have any kale so I used spinach and it was good. Next time I would add a lot of chopped broccoli instead of spinach, again to add some texture, and maybe throw in some toasted pignolia nuts. That might even be ok with orzo. Overall a nice weeknight dinner. Thank you!
Hey Annie,
Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Per usual this recipe was perfection. I was worried it would be too fatty but it was fresh and flavorful. I didn’t have a cast iron so I used a regular skillet and it was still great.
Hey Madison,
I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed. Thanks so much for giving it a try. Have a great week! xTieghan
What is a good substitute for the dill? I don’t like dill
Hey Sheila,
You can skip the dill or use another herb that you do enjoy:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made this tonight and it was so easy and quick to put together. I didn’t have kale so I used some baby spinach and it was delicious!
Hey Katy,
Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am delighted it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
I’ve been dying to make this recipe and think this is finally the weekend! I think I recall seeing this on your IG stories a couple weeks back, but made with broccolini instead of kale! When would you suggest adding the broccolini in to cook properly? Thank you!
Hey Meaghan,
You could add the broccolini at the beginning of step 4. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
So delicious! Quick and easy to make. Full of flavor
Hey Ashley,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for trying it out! Happy Friday! xTieghan