Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken with Creamy Parmesan Orzo

• We made the chicken for dinner with some orzo as a side dish- our first attempt at orzo! The recipe comes from Cooking Light, July 2013. There was actually more than enough BBQ sauce- we could probably even have done half as much. We followed the recipe for the chicken, but we did use 6 chicken drumsticks instead of the legs or thighs. We grilled them on the George Foreman grill. They were pretty darn spicy and very delicious. :) 

The orzo was good, too, but a little more calorie rich than we would have liked. :) We skipped the basil and pine nuts, but it was still very tasty and a fun alternative to potatoes or rice. It seemed like there was too much liquid and it took almost twice as long as it said to cook. However, the orzo was organic from Natural Foods and I noticed it's much larger than the stuff from the store, so maybe that's part of the reason why. 

• Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil 
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 1/2 cup lower-sodium ketchup
• 2 tablespoons water 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 bone-in chicken leg-thigh quarters, skinned
• Cooking spray

Chicken Preparation

1. 1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. 2. Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add shallots; sauté 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in ketchup, next 5 ingredients (through chile powder), and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to low, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. 3. Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, garlic powder, cumin, and black pepper; sprinkle over chicken. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 15 minutes on each side or until done. Baste chicken generously with sauce; turn over, and grill 1 minute. Baste again; turn over, and grill 1 minute. Serve with remaining sauce. 4 servings.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 256
• Fat: 9.8g
• Saturated fat: 2.3g
• Monounsaturated fat: 4.5g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 1.7g
• Protein: 25.9g
• Carbohydrate: 16.3g
• Fiber: 0.6g
• Cholesterol: 139mg
• Iron: 1.5mg
• Sodium: 366mg
• Calcium: 25mg

Creamy Parmesan Orzo

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup orzo pasta
1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, fresh is better
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted
Directions:

1) Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add orzo and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
2) Stir in broth and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed, and orzo is done, about 15 minutes.
3) Remove from heat; stir in cheese, basil, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Facts for Creamy Parmesan Orzo

Serving Size: 1 (205 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Calories 239.8 

Calories from Fat 69 28%

Total Fat 7.6 g 11% 

Saturated Fat 3.3 g 16%

Cholesterol 13.1 mg 4%

Sodium 293.6 mg 12%

Total Carbohydrate 33.0 g 11% 

Dietary Fiber 1.5 g 6%

Sugars 1.3 g 5%

Protein 9.8 g 19%