My “Whole Package” Greek {protein packed} Orzo Salad

Hi and Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Yay!

My family will be BBQ-ing with friends twice this weekend {we’re just pretending it’s not STILL raining here in Nor Cal, seriously?} ……so in the spirit of efficiency, I am going to serve the same dish 2 days in a row!  I have been playing around with Orzo Pasta lately, and have created a few dishes that ended up being hits!  Today I’ll share my “Whole Package Greek {protein packed} Orzo Salad” with you.  That’s quite a name, huh? You should have seen the original name: whole-package-Greek {protein packed} lemon-feta-sundried tomato-kalamata olive salad. Then I realized I can just give you an ingredients list instead!

Ingredients:

{note: my goal was to use the whole packages of most everything…I never seem to remember use up half-filled jars of things}

~1 pound orzo pasta

~6 TBS olive oil {doesn’t that sound better than 1/2 cup? it’s the same though!}

~1 pound feta cheese {or should I say, 16 oz.}

~1 can garbanzo beans {chickpeas…Trader Joes 15 oz.- this is how the title gets “protein packed” in its name}

~1 jar kalamata olives {Trader Joes 12 oz.}

~1 jar sliced sundried tomatoes in olive oil {Trader Joes 8.5 oz.}

~1 bunch parsley, approx. 3/4 cup chopped {this is a SUPER easy one to grow in the garden}

~1/2 cup toasted pine nuts {just bake them for 10 min. at 350}

~juice from 1-2 lemons {I’m on a lemon kick lately}

~pepper {& salt?}

Directions:

Cook the orzo according to the package directions. Drain.  Rinse with cold water to stop them from cooking more.

Immediately after rinsing, place orzo into a bowl and stir in the olive oil right now. It keeps the orzo from sticking together.

While the orzo is cooking, you can do all of your prepping: chop the feta, half the olives, chop the parsley, drain/rinse the garbanzo beans, open the sundried tomatoes, toast the pine nuts & open the sundried tomatoes {I don’t drain them…just pour in the olive oil too}

Next, mix all of the ingredients you just prepped in with the orzo.

Finally, juice your lemon(s) and stir in.  Add a generous sprinkling of pepper {you should taste it to see if you want to add salt…I think there’s enough salt in the feta and olives that it doesn’t really need more, but you might appreciate the salt taste right on the tip of your tongue.

Serves 16. 

{Of course you could half the recipe if that’s too much…or freeze some?, but I needed enough for 2 BBQs and I wanted to use the whole jar of everything!}

Will you be doing any BBQ-ing this 3-day weekend??

If you are, check out my recipes for Cuban BBQ Chicken and also BBQ shrimp if you like!

Have a fun & relaxing weekend!  Smile!