Creamy Orzo with Chicken and Feta

It's been awhile since I've cooked anything new. Since time is so limited these days I've been turning to quick and easy old favorites. But recently several new recipes have caught my eye and I'm determined to try them out. This delicious orzo dish is the first. I found this on Confections of a Foodie Bride's blog and bookmarked it immediately. It had a bunch of my favorite things - orzo, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese - and required very little prep work. Sold! The only change I made was to use feta in place of goat cheese. Joe does the shopping and I was afraid that if I asked him to buy goat cheese he'd balk and refuse to eat this dish, so I went with the more familiar feta. This meal was delicious! I loved the creamy orzo combined with the tangy tomatoes and cheese. This will definitely be added to the "quick and easy old favorites" list!

Creamy Orzo with Chicken and Feta

1 lb orzo
1 lb chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
6 oz feta or goat cheese, crumbled
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Juice of half a lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
4 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3/4 cup Parmesan, grated
3/4 cup Panko

Preheat oven to 400. Add orzo, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, thyme, lemon juice and feta to a 2.5 - 3 quart baking dish. Bring chicken broth, water, 1 tbsp butter, salt and pepper to a boil on the stove. Pour into baking dish, stirring slightly to mix. Bake for 30 minutes.

Mix Parmesan and Panko. Melt remaining 1 tbsp butter and mix into Parmesan and Panko mixture. Sprinkle mixture on top of orzo dish and and bake for 7-10 minutes more until bubbly. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.