Reviewed: Jan. 5, 2009

We're trying to eat healthier and this fits right into my plan: no cheese, cream, or butter. My husband loved it, as did I. Because of what I had on hand I used broken whole wheat linguini instead of orzo, canned tomatoes instead of spinach, yellow bell peppers (because I originally misread "red pepper flakes"), and added some Tabasco sauce.

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jkrbeloved

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Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2008

I didn't have any parsely so I did as another reviewer suggested and instead added rosemary and lemon juice and I cooked the orzo in chicken broth. The pasta came out delicious and I could not get enough of it. I underestimated how much spinach to put in and continued to add it to leftovers. The chicken, however, came out bland and rubbery. It didn't take on the flavors at all. Next time I'll add more vegetables and skip the chicken.

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Amy

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Birmingham, Alabama, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2008

I read the previous reviews that said this was kind of bland, so I kind of modified it. My family doesn't like spinach, so I used a can of diced tomatoes, and instead of red pepper flakes from a jar, I crushed my own (ouch! I forgot to wear gloves!!). I had inadvertently used the fresh parmesan for another recipe so had to use from a jar, but it was ok. That said, my family LOVED this recipe and it was SO EASY!!

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Lori P

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Reviewed: Nov. 23, 2008

This was a great one dish meal. I cooked the orzo in chicken stock, and didn't drain it before adding to the rest of the mix. Also, increased the amount of garlic, salt and peppered the chicken directly, and added a little bit of chopped bell pepper and mushrooms when I put the chicken in. Also, I don't think that the spinach needs more then a couple of minutes in the pot. All in all, lots of flavor, and my 3 year old ate it so I'm happy. I'll make this again. Thanks!

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Joseyrose55

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Langley, British Columbia, Canada

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Reviewed: Nov. 19, 2008

I subbed boneless/skinless chicken thighs dusted with seasoned flour and added a can of petite diced tomatoes (garlic and oregano). Doubled the garlic. Also added chicken broth to adjust consistency. WOW.

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Godfather

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Reviewed: Nov. 12, 2008

I'm sorry but both my husband and I found this recipe to be very boring if followed as written....we ended up adding bacon and Alfredo and other spices just to make it edible.

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Kelly Beth

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Cherry Valley, California, USA

Living In: Belchertown, Massachusetts, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 10, 2008

My family loved this recipe, as written. Very easy and tasy! Thanks for the recipe.

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micheleb

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Reviewed: Nov. 9, 2008

My husband and I loved this recipe! It was so quick and easy to make and more importantly, it was delicious! This has become a favorite recipe in our house!

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Holly

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Reviewed: Nov. 6, 2008

This was wonderful and so easy. I made it following the orginal recipe, but I think next time I will cook the orzo in chicken broth and try some seafood in it. I also used asiago cheese instead of the parm and it really added some more flavor.

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Dawn

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Houston, Texas, USA

Living In: Franklinville, New Jersey, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 30, 2008

It tasted alright, i thought it needed a little more flavor. I added some garlic powder in the end and a little salt and pepper.

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Stephanie

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Reviewed: Oct. 25, 2008

Thanks for this fantastic recipe! As did a previous reviewer, I also used fresh basil and it was fantastic! Don't leave out the red pepper flakes. They give this recipe a nice zip! I think I might add some fresh sauteed mushrooms next time. What a great recipe to play with!

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Mary Lee

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Reviewed: Oct. 24, 2008

My husband and I loved this dish. Per some previous suggestions, I cooked the pasta in chicken broth. I used basil instead of parsley because I had a bunch to use up. I used a bit more spinach than called for because we like it. The crushed red pepper gave it a wonderful spice that contrasted wonderfully with the spinach and parm cheese. It was so easy to make too.

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hmark

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Reviewed: Oct. 23, 2008

What a great recipe! I found a terrific sale on fresh Spinach and Chicken on my way home from work and was grateful to have found this one. This recipe was perfect, quick and easy. We cooked the orzo in chicken broth like others mentioned and recommend it highly. It was a bit 'kicky', but that could have been from the heavy hand of my husband when I wasn't looking:)

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Lisa A.

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Oct. 20, 2008

Really good but with a few changes. I substituted roasted garlic for the minced. I just roasted it in the oven and then squished it to get it out of the cloves. Then I added a 1/3 or so cup of cream to blend all the flavors together better. I served lots of fresh grated parm on top and my family loved it, a keeper.

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RenataKC

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Reviewed: Oct. 17, 2008

Very good although I did make some changes based on other reviews. I added chopped tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and I doubled the spinach. I also used chicken broth instead of water to boil the orzo. I added a splash of white wine and some of the chicken broth from the orzo at the end and when I mixed the orzo with the chicken I splashed some extra virgin olive oil over it. I will def. make this again my husband loved it!

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April

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Reviewed: Oct. 13, 2008

As another person mentioned, this is a great "base" recipe. There was nothing "wrong" with it at all. It just wasn't bursting with flavor. I took the advice of others and used chix broth. I think w/o that it would have been bland. I will try this again and maybe put my own spin on it. It is a great lower fat recipe and a good way to sneak in veggies.

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mml25aqua

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Reviewed: Oct. 11, 2008

This was ok.

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Heather

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Rogers, Arkansas, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 9, 2008

I followed this recipe to the letter and it was delicious. I overcooked my chicken, so it was a little dry, but that's not the recipe's fault! Next time I'll be more careful with that.

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KVCooks

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Reviewed: Oct. 9, 2008

I enjoyed this recipe last night and it was very good, I had never had orzo before and found it to be light and yummy. As suggested I cooked in in chicken broth. The whole thing was yummy. The one thing I did differntly is I browned my chicken half way so it would have color took it out of the skillet then added my garlic/onions then threw the chicken back in with the orzo. Yummo! Try it you will like it.

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