lemon chicken and orzo pasta salad

this was lunch for several days last week.  it was wonderful and even more exciting, i made it up myself!  rare, i know.

first, a while back this man knocked on my door trying to sell me some meat.  he was really pushing the beef and wouldn't believe me when i told him we really don't eat that much red meat.  finally, after i pushed back, he showed me what he had to offer for chicken.  i ended up purchasing a case of this chicken and have been very pleased with it so far.  in fact, we're almost out and i'm ready to order some more.  there are several different flavors, already marinated and then a box of chicken tenders (the kids LOVED).

i looked the company up online and noticed they sell the same case i bought for $279 ... i paid $110!  looks like i need to track down the phone number of the guy who visited our house.  i feel like this is a great price for the quantity and especially for the quality.  we went through this case very quickly.

back to the orzo.  so, i had grilled some of the lemon pepper chicken up the night before and had few cutlets left over waiting to be eaten for lunch.  obviously if you don't have the chicken waiting patiently in your fridge, you'll need to grill up a couple of breasts seasoned with lemon pepper or, eliminate it all together for nice vegetarian friendly dish.

2 chicken breasts, seasoned with lemon pepper, grilled and cut into bite size pieces
1 1/2 cups orzo pasta (pref. wheat), cook according to package directions eliminating salt and oil
1 cup fresh spinach
2 Tbsp green onions, minced
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp orange juice (i used fresh)
2 Tbsp lemon juice (i used fresh)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

using a wire whisk, mix together onions, parsley, oj, lemon juice, mustard and oil.  set aside.  once pasta is cooked, drain and return to saucepan.  turn heat off.  mix in warm chicken and fresh spinach.  toss until spinach is wilted.  move to serving dish and drizzle dressing mixture over top.  toss to mix.  serve warm, at room temperature or cold.  i ate this for days and loved it every way!

yields 4 - 1 cup servings (nutritional data includes chicken)

Nutrition Facts orzo pasta salad Serving Size: 1 serving Amount Per Serving Calories 346 Total Fat 7.8g       Saturated Fat 1.1g       Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 36mg Sodium 215mg Carbohydrate 48.5g       Dietary Fiber 2.7g       Sugars 2.6g Protein 20.4g Vitamin A 20% Vitamin C 11% Calcium    2% Iron 9%