sandra lee's lemon herb orzo

{image from the National Pasta Association}

We have some favorite summer foods around here that I just make over and over, until come autumn we're all sick of them.  But that's okay, because by the following May, we're ready to go again. :) I thought I'd post some of them this week.

I love Sandra Lee's Lemon Herb Orzo.  (I think Sandra Lee has gotten a bad rap. She's not a chef, she's a cook, and so am I. How many of us can actually cook like chefs every night? Many of her recipes are yummy, healthy, and totally practical for moms. I zoom in mostly on her side dishes, which don't rely too heavily on processed foods. I just ignore anything that says "Cheese Whiz.")

So we love this orzo . . . it's light and citrus-y and feels right for hot weather. You could make it with any tiny, soup-weight pasta, such as pastina (tiny little stars) or ditalini (also called gnocchetti, gnocchettini, tubettini, ditaletti, coralli, ditalini, avemarie, or caporelli, depending on where you live -- they look like tiny little thimbles):

{image from the National Pasta Association}

or tripolini (tiny little bow ties):

{image from the National Pasta Association}

Usually I just serve this with some chicken (Sandra Lee served it with Provence Style Chicken Breast Fillets, which are yummy, but I've also just shredded a deli chicken) and grilled asparagus or steamed green beans on the side, and maybe a few grape tomatoes thrown on the plate for color. I've also paired it with grilled salmon.  Yummy, yummy lemon herb orzo.