Yesterday was one of those days. Remember Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? My day started at 3am when Little Boy #3 woke up screaming from his bed, “I need my coffee!” Not sure what he was dreaming about prior to his outburst, but I can assure you no coffee has ever touched his lips.
Then later that morning, I had really high hopes for a scalloped potato recipe I was trying. After a good hour of prep work and another hour of baking time, I opened the oven expecting to be amazed at my beautiful potato creation only to find that the cream sauce had curdled, so what I was staring at was potatoes with curds and whey.
Yuck.
The day continued in this way…
A clogged kitchen sink.
Propane ran out while I was grilling dinner.
I cut my finger doing dishes.
My husband assured me that surely tomorrow would be better. It just had to be. I decided I would go to bed early before anything else could go wrong. Then I remembered that there was a load of laundry in the dryer waiting patiently to be folded. I opened the dryer door and noticed the inside walls of the dryer looked very colorful. Hmm… The clothes had rainbow polka dots on them. Turns out someone had a little pack of crayons in one of their pockets.
Not good my friends.
By this point, I just had to laugh. Is someone trying to tell me something? On days like these, I’m thankful that in the great scheme of things, my problems are really only inconveniences, and that I have my health, family, and the hope of a new day.
Well, unlike my scalloped potato recipe, this one is a winner. Roasted veggies and orzo pasta coated in a light lemon garlic butter sauce.
Start by chopping zucchini, red peppers, and asparagus into bite sized pieces. Toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet.
I served this pasta with some grilled chicken that I had marinated in my favorite teriyaki sauce (Island Soyaki from Trader Joes). It would also taste great with grilled chicken marinated in a little olive oil and lemon pepper.
This recipe made a lot of pasta, and I enjoyed the leftovers for lunch during the week. Orzo comes in a very tiny box, but it really expands when it cooks.
Lemon Garlic Orzo With Roasted Vegetables
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 as a side 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: American
Description
Lemon Garlic Orzo – Rice shaped pasta coated in a light lemon garlic butter sauce mixed with roasted zucchini, red peppers and asparagus.
Ingredients
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 1 zucchini chopped
- 1 bunch of asparagus trimmed and chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 lb. Orzo (rice shaped pasta)
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- Juice of a lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Place chopped vegetables on a baking sheet and coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix them around so the vegetables are coated evenly.
- Roast vegetables in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until they are tender but not mushy.
- In the meantime, boil the pasta according to the directions on the box in well salted water.
- For the lemon garlic butter sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan. Add garlic and sauté on medium low heat for one minute. Add the lemon juice and stir to combine.
- When the vegetables and pasta are cooked, drain the pasta and add the vegetables. Pour lemon garlic butter over the pasta and veggies and stir to combine. Serve warm, or at room temperature.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 242
- Sugar: 2.9g
- Sodium: 332mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 5.2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.3g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 2.6g
- Protein: 6.2g
- Cholesterol: 19mg
Disclaimer: the links in this post for the book are Amazon affiliate links.
Jamie@Milk 'n' Cookies says
I remember that book! I’m sorry you had such a “terrible-horrible-no good -very bad day.” Those are the worst!
But your orzo looks beautiful. Orzo has always been one of my favorite pasta shapes to use, and you’ve reminded me of how much I love it. This recipe looks like the perfect way to hold onto summer for just a bit longer.
Julie says
Thanks Jamie, so glad every day is not like that one!
Brittany Futrell says
Julie–this looks so yummy!! Someone brought us an amazing orzo chicken veggie dinner after I had Henry and I’ve been wanting to try an orzo recipe…looks like this will be the one I’ll try. All your recipes look delish!! It’s fun to be inspired to try new things! Thanks! Your site looks great as well. 😮
cgransee says
Hi Brittany! So glad you are going to give this one a try. Love when Jenna posts pics of the boys on Instagram. They are so handsome!