Vegetable Soup with Rice and Pesto

Ingredients:

2 tbsp of butter

¼ cup of orzo

1 ¼ of rice

6 cups of chicken stock

1/3 cup of olive oil

4 cups of carrots, cleaned and cut into cubes (you may even find them in the frozen section of your local grocery store)

2 large leeks sliced length wise and thinly sliced.  Ensure all dirt has been rinsed off.

2 cups of frozen peas.

Ingredients for pesto: With a food processor mix with the ingredients below adding a bit of extra olive oil as needed.

1 cup of Italian parsley leaves

½ cup of fresh mint leaves

3 tbsp of pine nuts

1/3 cup of freshly grated parmesan

3 tbsp of pine nuts

Olive oil as needed.

Directions:

In a medium sauce, melt butter.  Add the orzo and rice.  Stir in 2 cups of the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cover. Stir occasionally, adding more of the stock as needed until the rice is tender (about 20 minutes).

As you are cooking the rice, add olive oil to a sauce pot over med-high heat.  Add the carrot and leeks, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 10 minutes and add the remaining stock. Stir the pesto into the rice mixture. Add the vegetable mixture to the pesto/rice mixture.