Peach and bean pasta: a recipe

Peach and bean pasta with grilled chicken

It's peach season -- and I couldn't be happier.

I've been eating and cooking with them almost as fast as I've been slicing them up and freezing them using my new handheld vacuum sealer. (If you freeze much, you need one of these things. NEED.)

As everyone else does, I love all the sweet and desserty possibilities of peaches: crumbles, tarts, muffins, jams, galettes, smoothies ... the list is seemingly endless.

But I also learned a few years ago that peaches are amazing when grilled and paired with cheese at dinnertime.

They get all warm and practically melty, just perfect in a nice salad or next to a gorgeous grilled piece of beef.

Or chicken, in this case. With blue cheese.

Oh. My. GAWD.

This dish is one of those recipes that I'm going to insist that you put on your to-make list immediately. Not only is it completely, amazingly delicious -- I'm talking snarf-it-down-in-five-minutes-like-a-big-old-pig delicious (yes, I'm speaking from experience) -- but it is also super quick and super easy (my favorite combination).

Can you boil water and light the grill? You're practically done. Not kidding.

Less than 20 minutes to the table but it tastes like a million bucks.

So, let's get to it, shall we?

Peach and Bean Pasta (adapted from a recipe in Better Homes and Gardens magazine)

Ingredients:
8-10 ounces orzo or other teeny tiny pasta
8-10 ounces green beans, trimmed and snapped into manageable pieces
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 large peaches, pitted and cut into quarters
5 ounces crumbled blue cheese
olive oil

Directions:
Rub a tiny bit of olive oil on the chicken and the peaches to keep them from sticking to the grill.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Over medium heat, grill the chicken (time will vary according to the size of the breasts and tempermental-ness of your grill) on both sides, adding the peaches so they can cook about 4-5 minutes total, turning halfway through so you get lovely grill marks.

While the chicken and peaches grill, cook the orzo according to package directions, adding the green beans to the water for the last 4 minutes of cooking. Drain and set aside.

Cut the chicken and peaches into bite-sized pieces and combine them, along with the blue cheese and the orzo/green bean mixture in a large bowl, letting the cheese get all melty. Season to taste with salt and pepper.