Carrot Orzo

I love risotto.  I recently saw a receipe for carrot orzo in Southern Living.  It is made similarly to risotto but with two ingreidents I wouldn't have thought of using - carrots and orzo (instead of risotto).  It turned out to be pretty good.  This recipe makes a ton so unless you are looking to serve a crowd, you may consider cutting it in half.  Although, I gotta say, this recipe might not be bad as a cold salad for leftovers...  Here's my slightly modified version:

What you'll need:
2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
2 Tbsp butter
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cups orzo pasta (uncooked)
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste (be generous!)

What you do:

Melt butter in large saucepan and add carrots, onion and garlic.  Cook until tender, stirring regularly. 

Meanwhile, heat up broth and equal parts water.

Once carrots are tender, add orzo and cook for one minute.

Slowly add the broth, and salt and pepper to taste.  Continue adding the broth until all of the liquid is absorbed.

Stir in the parmesan (reserve a little for the top) and thyme.  Season once more with salt and pepper.  Top with remaining parmesan.  Serve immediately.

We had ours with marinated pork chops (baked instead of grilled since we ran out of gas for the grill!).