Mediterranean Orzo Bake with Sun-dried Tomatoes

I saw this recipe on social media and decided to give it a try - I tweaked it a little bit and wow, it was really good especially for being so simple and easy to throw together. Thursdays are always my busiest day of the week where I have little time to devote to dinner prep - so I made this on a Thursday. I would say the whole meal came together in about 20 minutes. It baked for 30 minutes and we were ready to eat in under an hour.  I added some microgreens to the dish just before serving to add more greens and we had some homemade ciabatta in the freezer. I think this would also be great served with a side of roasted broccoli. If you want to add more protein I believe Beyond Sausage or chicken sausage would make a nice addition. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 Tbl olive oil

1 cup of diced red onion

2 garlic cloves

1 lb of orzo pasta

3 giant handfuls of fresh spinach

1 can of chickpeas, drained

8 oz jar of sun-dried tomatoes, drain oil and chop into  bit sized pieces

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

juice of one large lemon

2 1/2 cups of vegetable broth (I use Better Than Bullion Vegetable Base)

Feta cheese or vegan feta cheese for topping (I LOVE Violife Vegan Feta- it is delicious! I am the only person in the family who doesn't eat cheese, but everyone loves this feta, so that's what I use)

micro-greens for topping, optional 

Protein options: Beyond Sausage, cooked and sliced or chicken sausage, cooked and sliced, added just before serving, optional

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400F

Let's sauté the onions first! You can put the chopped onions and garlic in raw, but I think it is worth 10 extra minutes to sauté them with the garlic in a pan before baking - it takes the bitterness out and softens them up. Okay so add 2 Tbl of olive oil to a pan over low heat. Add the chopped red onions and sauté for about 8 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes to avoid over browning. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat. 

Line a 9X13" baking dish with parchment paper or foil. This will save you a lot of clean up mess! Put a tiny bit of olive oil on the bottom of the dish and spread it around evenly. Evenly pour all the dry orzo in the bottom of the baking dish. Next add the fresh spinach and then the chickpeas. Do all of this evenly over the dry orzo. Sprinkle on the spices and salt. Evenly squeeze the lemon juice over it all and then top with the chopped sun dried tomatoes. Now it is time to pour the vegetable broth over the whole dish. 2 1/2 cups of broth was enough to cover the layer of dry orzo on the bottom. If you think you need a little more, add another 1/4 cup. 

Bake this in the oven for 30 minutes. Take it out and use a wooden spoon to stir it up and break up the clumps of orzo that formed while baking. The orzo should be perfectly al dente! Sprinkle the feta OR vegan feta over the top. Adjust with salt and pepper, as desired. Just before serving add some micro-greens on top for color and yumminess and fiber! Add cooked/sliced vegan or regular sausage, if using. Serve with a side of good crusty bread. Enjoy this quick weeknight dinner!