Last night we made orzo with pomodoro tomatoes and basil. I realized at the end that I did not chop a thing thanks to the ingredients I found in the store – the Gourmet Garden basil and garlic tubes and the box of sodium-free chopped pomodoro tomatoes.

The orzo is pasta that is shaped like rice and it cooks quickly. It adds variety to the spaghetti and macaroni that are staples in our kitchen.  

Here is the recipe:

1.  Saute 1 tablespoon minced garlic in 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil until nutty over medium heat in a sauce pan
2. Add 2 cups chopped pomodoro tomatoes and juice along with 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil and allow to cook briefly.  
3. Stir in 3 cups cooked orzo. 

We paired the Orzo with a Light Caesar Salad that was very very lightly dressed with Light Caesar Dressing by Cardini’s:

We enjoy the flavor of Cardini’s and this dressing is much lower in fat AND sodium than most other Caesar Dressings we have come across in the store.

We also served Chicken Tenderloins with Key Lime and Cilantro:

The chicken tenders were placed in a glass baking dish and topped with key lime juice and Gourmet Garden chopped cilantro and then baked for 20 minutes at 350. We have the leftovers for some chicken tacos later in the week. 

Some more menu ideas from our week:

- Lowfat Lasagna with Egg Plant Parmesan, salad

- Chicken Rice Tacos with corn, slaw, sliced avocado

- Turkey Cutlets with fresh zucchini, mashed sweet potatoes

- Turkey Mushroom Rice Pot (leftover chopped turkey cooked with brown rice and mushrooms), cucumber yogurt salad

This menu was inspired from the produce section of the store. I find it is very efficient to go home with 4 or 5 meal ideas that use some of the same ingredients.

Note:  We have had a question on the Pomi brand Pomodoro tomatoes featured here.  They are a pomodoro or plum tomato that is diced and packaged without salt in an aseptic container. You can also use fresh diced plum tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes without salt. If using the  latter, a pinch of sugar will make them more similar to the plum tomatoes which are sweeter and have a more mild flavor.  Thanks to Janice Gregg from Oregon State University Extension for asking us to clarify this!