This easy Cheesy Orzo is a perfect weeknight side dish!
The other night, I was making my favorite meatloaf recipe and I realized that I didn’t have the ingredients on hand to make homemade mac and cheese.
In our house, mac and cheese is to meatloaf as peanut butter is to jelly. You can’t have one without the other.
With my back up against the wall, I scoured the pantry and fridge to see what I could come up with.
I found a box of orzo — it’s a staple I always have on hand. And, I had an idea.
I could take my Parmesan Orzo recipe (see the link to the recipe below) and turn it into a quick and easy mac and cheese. Orzo is pasta so essentially, orzo and cheese is just about the same as mac and cheese, right?!?
Parmesan Orzo is one of my favorite quick and easy side dish recipes. It’s ready in about 15 minutes and goes perfectly with so many things. By making a few simple tweaks to the original recipe, I could have a comparable mac and cheese in 15 minutes.
The result was scrumptious! It was creamy and cheesy. And, it was the perfect sidekick to the meatloaf. This recipe is a winner!
Ingredients
- 1 cup orzo
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon House Seasoning
- 4 oz Velveeta process cheese cubed
- ¼ cup milk
Instructions
- In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium high heat.
- Add orzo and stir regularly until the orzo is lightly toasted.
- Add chicken broth and House Seasoning; turn the heat down to low.
- With the lid off, simmer until all of the liquid is absorbed.
- Add the cheese and stir until melted.
- Slowly add the milk and stir until desired creaminess is reached.
If you like this recipe, make sure you check out some of my other recipes:
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