Pea and Carrot Soup with Rice

{Meatless Monday}   ...finally! ; )

The other night, my husband brought me home a new Rachel Ray magazine (for some reason he is getting them at his school) and I opened it up and there was a recipe that looked quick and easy and I had everything to make it...hooray!

I think most everybody really liked it.  It had such a good flavor with the pesto rice.  And most of my kids had seconds!! It just felt healthy and yummy.

Here's what you need:

2 T. butter
1/4 cup orzo
1 cup white rice
6 cups vegetable broth, DIVIDED
2 T olive oil
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
2 leeks, halved and sliced ( I just used a large regular onion)
2 cups fresh or frozen peas

1/2 cup pesto (the original recipe had you make a parsley/mint pesto, but I just used one of my frozen pucks of pesto Scroll down about half way for pesto recipe!)


Melt butter in saucepan.  Add the orzo and toast until golden brown.  Stir in the rice and add about 2 cups of the broth.  Bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally and adding a bit more broth if necessary.  Cook about 18 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile...in a soup pot, heat the olive oil and add the carrots and leeks/onions.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until softened, 6-7 minutes.  (I did a little longer because I wanted them really soft for my kids. Nothing creates mutiny like crunchy onions!! ; )  Add the remaining broth and peas.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.

Combine pesto with rice/orzo mixture.  Scoop 1/2 cup of rice/pesto mix into each soup bowl.  Top with the vegetables in broth.  Stir to combine.

It was so easy, so yummy, and so well liked that I can't wait to make it again.  I especially loved the rice with the orzo...they both gave the soup a great texture.