Healthy Waists, Healthy Wallets: Summer Chicken and Orzo - Tanglewood Moms

Ingredients

• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 2 to 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (chicken thighs are far cheaper and tastier than chicken breasts, but you can use breasts for this if you want)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (I love the mixed ones – red, yellow, orange – that you can find in grocery stores)
• 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into ¼ inch slices
• 8 ounces orzo pasta, or some other small pasta (I use whole wheat orzo that you can find in some grocery stores or online)
• 3 ½ cups water
• A couple of sprigs of basil, leaves removed from stems and thinly sliced
• ½ bunch parsley, chopped
• Kalamata or mixed olives, pitted and sliced
• Roasted pepper, sliced into strips
• Artichoke hearts, marinated or plain, quartered
• Hearts of palm, sliced into ½ inch rounds
• Capers
• Shaved or grated hard Italian cheese like Parmagiano-Reggiano, pecorino Romano, or asiago