Greek Pasta Salad
Happy Easter! I hope everyone is enjoying copious amounts of Easter candy. I’ve been stuffing jelly beans, sour gummy worms, and cupcakes in my mouth all weekend. Starting tomorrow, I’m quitting cold turkey. No more candy, no more cupcakes, and no more caramel sauce in my iced coffee. I may go through sugar withdrawals, but I’ll have to stay strong. From now on, it’s back to fruit, whole grains, and veggies.
Not only are we celebrating Easter today, but it’s time to celebrate #SundaySupper. I was going to share my mac and cheese recipe with all of you, but I forgot to measure the ingredients. I’m not used to measuring when I cook. Don’t worry, next time I make it, I’ll make sure I remember to measure. However, I did remember to measure the ingredients for the greek pasta salad I made. This is one of my favorite pasta salads. It’s packed with veggies, feta cheese, and kalamata olives. Yum!
We celebrated Easter a day early since some of our family members had to travel home on Easter day. We had a very casual dinner- barbecue style. We grilled chicken, hamburgers, and sausage. I made corn on the cob, greek pasta salad, and a few desserts. My mom made her famous green beans and was the grill master for the day. When the food was done, all of us gathered together and enjoyed the little time we had with each other.
To top the day off, we sat around the fire and had a few cocktails and roasted marshmallows. Enjoy your Easter!
Love and sweet treats,
Jennie
Recipe:
1 pound pasta
1 pint grape tomatoes, whole or halved
1 seedless cucumber, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1 15 oz. can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup plus 1 tbs. red wine vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
6 tsp. honey
2 tsp. dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
Cook pasta according to the package instructions. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again. Set aside.
Combine tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, beans, onion, and olives in a large mixing bowl. Add cooked pasta and toss to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk together oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, mustard, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Pour over pasta and veggie mixture. Add feta and chopped mint. Stir to combine. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. Enjoy.
I adore pasta salads. We eat them all of the time. I have everything to make this and I’m so excited! This will be our side instead of tater salad in a few days! YUM
Reply
themessybakerblog replied April 8th, 2012 at 6:25 pm
That’s so exciting! Let me know what you think. It only lasted a few hours in my house- they gobbled it up.
Reply
The pasta salad looks great and so refreshing thanks for sharing
Reply
Jennie, this looks crazy good! I’m having “sweets overload” too due to last week’s baking marathon, and i need to recover. Looks like i’ll be starting with this.
Reply
themessybakerblog replied April 9th, 2012 at 7:29 pm
Thanks, Shannon. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know.
Reply
We love salads at my place and this one looks awesome. So satisfying , filling and healthy! It will be made soon at my place.
Reply
That sounds delicious. I love greek salads and this is an interesting twist.
Reply
yeah, i totally know what you mean about having too many sweets! this sounds like the PERFECT antidote! yum!!
Reply
My Mother made a similar salad when I was young and I always loved it! Yours sounds delicious as well :)!
Reply
themessybakerblog replied April 10th, 2012 at 9:38 am
Thanks, Amy! It really is a tasty salad.
Reply
I know what you mean about not being used to measuring. This whole blogging thing is making me take note of what I put into dishes for the first time. It’s slightly annoying to have to pause, but good to be able to share and recreate!
Reply
themessybakerblog replied April 10th, 2012 at 9:37 am
I only measure when I bake. I really have to work on measuring when I cook. It is slightly annoying, but you’re right, sharing a recipe is awesome. Thanks for visiting.
Reply
That’s one delicious looking meal. I’d love nothing more than a bowl of it right now. :)
Reply
Easy, quick simple and mouth watering is all I have to say.
Reply
themessybakerblog replied April 12th, 2012 at 2:47 pm
Thank you so much.
Reply
I love love lovepasta and greek salad so your marriage of them is one I am definitely crashing ;)
WOw!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Reply
I think this might be the perfect pasta salad!
Reply
themessybakerblog replied April 22nd, 2012 at 10:06 am
Thanks, Stephanie. It really is tasty and healthy. My family loves this salad.
Reply
How am I just finding this now?! What a great recipe. This will be in our summer rotation for sure.
Reply
themessybakerblog replied May 2nd, 2012 at 3:05 pm
I’m glad you found it because it is such a lovely summertime salad. Enjoy!
Reply
Greetings from Greece! That’s a great idea there and must be very tasty as well! We will definitely try it!
Reply
themessybakerblog replied May 14th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Thank you so much. It’s a tasty dish. Thanks for visiting.
Reply