Tri-Colore Orzo

I think this is my favorite recipe on this blog. I'm actually eating it right now as I post. Here's what you need:

1 pound orzo pasta
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup*
2 cups fresh arugula (about 3 ounces**
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (ricotta salata cheese)
1/2 cup dried cherries
12 fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts***
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and put the pasta on a large cookie sheet. Drizzle the pasta with 3 tablespoons olive oil, toss, spread out, and set aside to cool.

Once the orzo is cool, transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently to combine. Serve.

Notes:
*(I actually omitted this 1/4 cup and it was still really good).
**You can find this in the organic produce section of your grocery store or next to the bagged salads / spinach.
***I used way less than 1/4 cup since pine nuts are expensive. I used approx. 1 TBSP. To roast the pine nuts, put them in a pan on the oven (without oil) on low-medium heat for a few minutes, string frequently. Watch them closely so they don't burn.
*If you only use 2 tsp. olive oil, this recipe is 6 WW points+ per cup. I can't really tell a difference by cutting the olive oil - it's still really good.

Recipe compliments of Giada De Laurentiis.

My Favorite Summer Salad

For this salad I used:
*Organic greens (because they were on sale) and Spinach
*Strawberries
*Avocado (I like to squeeze some lemon juice on the cut up avocado so it doesn't turn brown).
*Red Onion
*Mushrooms
*Gorgonzola Cheese (crumbled) (I found this in both the deli area and cheese isle at my grocery store)
*Fresh ground pepper

I also sometimes add almond slivers and I think peas would be good in this one too. I just made this up so I don't have exact amounts - but just use however much you need for how many you are feeding. (I took this to a dinner for six people so I made a lot.) Then, and this is very important for the salad to have the full effect, I use Brianna's Blush Wine salad dressing, as pictured above.

My Favorite Sandwich

This thing is heaven. So delicious. Trust me, you want to make this.

Here's what you need:

A bagel, bread of your choice, or bagel bread (my favorite but I didn't have any when photographing this so I used a bagel, which worked fine). I like the Everything variety. You will also need mushrooms, a bell pepper (whatever color you like), onion, avocado, sprouts, a tomato, olive oil, garlic powder, lemon pepper, cheese (not pictured) mustard, and honey (or honey mustard from the store if you prefer). I also sometimes add spinach, lettuce, smoked honey turkey from the deli...whatever sounds good.

1. Heat up your George Foreman grill while you cut up some pepper and onion (or you can use a skillet if you don't have a GF grill). Put a little oil on the grill and start get the onion and pepper grilling.

2. Cut up some mushrooms and tomato and add those to the grill.

3. While all of this is grilling, cut up some cheese (my favorite is Tillamook medium or sharp cheddar) and put that between your bread (also add some turkey now if you want to). Brush both sides of your bread with olive oil. Put your grilled veggies aside on a plate and put the bread on the grill for a few minutes. I usually keep it on there until the cheese barely starts to melt and the bread looks a little grilled. Meanwhile, sprinkle some garlic powder and lemon pepper on the veggies.


4. Mix together some mustard and honey in a bowl (or use the stuff from the store if you have some).

5. Once your bread is grilled to your preference, take it apart and add some the veggies, your honey mustard, some avocado, the sprouts, and spinach or lettuce (it's nice to add a piece of lettuce of spinach if you're using a bagel to cover the hole so everything doesn't fall through. Speaking from experience here...)


There you have it. Yum.