dried oregano

Greek Pasta Salad

August 16, 2018 by Dana

This Greek Pasta Salad Recipe is the perfect picnic or get together tag a long! With my secret ingredient, this salad brings the flavor and is easy to throw together at the last minute.

This Greek Pasta Salad is my favorite! My secret ingredient, the brine of the feta cheese, takes this recipe to the next level. I have tried Greek Pasta Salad with the brine and without the brine, and my WITH brine recipe is 100% my favorite of all time pasta salad. The saltiness of the feta paired with a hint of sweetness from the tomatoes and a delicious homemade dressing makes for the perfect pasta salad. If you aren’t familiar with what I am talking about, you can buy feta cheese in a brine, which will be a liquid substance that the cheese is in. I prefer Feta in brine because I feel like the crumbled feta can be a little dry and lacking flavor. In any recipe I am using Feta cheese I do prefer Feta in brine. Pasta salads are especially important because putting a little bit of the brine in with your dressing creates the perfect salty, delicious dressing to compliment the pasta, veggies, and feta cheese. If you are skeptical or just not feeling it, you can omit the brine but I’m telling you it is so good!

Generally, I buy my Feta cheese at Wegman’s, because they always carry feta cheese in brine. I have struggled at other stores to find it all the time, but if I don’t see it in the regular cheese section I will always check the specialty cheese section and it is usually there. The crumbled feta just doesn’t compare so keep looking until you find it! 🙂 I have made this recipe with several different pasta varieties, but I like the orecchiette pasta the best. If you are looking for a swap, I would suggest rotini, small shells, or cavatappi. All of those pasta varieties have worked great for me in the past. The orecchiette creates a nice balance and that is why I prefer it but the others can certainly work too. Print

Greek Pasta Salad

Author: Dana

Description

A delicious, refreshing pasta salad that is a perfect side dish for any occasion.

Ingredients

1 pound orechiette pasta (rotini and shells work great too!)

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 seedless cucumber

1/2 red onion

8 ounces feta cheese

1/4 cup feta cheese brine

1/2 lemon, squeezed

1/4 cup white vinegar

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp dried oregano

salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Don’t forget to salt your pasta water!

For the dressing: Add 1/4 cup feta cheese brine, 1/2 lemon squeezed, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1 tsp dried oregano, and a dash of salt and pepper to a large bowl, blender, or food processor. Slowly drizzle in 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. If you are using a bowl, whisk vigorously while you are drizzling in your olive oil. (I used my Vitamix.)

Chop cherry tomatoes, seedless cucumber, and 1/2 red onion and place in a large bowl with 8 ounces feta cheese, and cooked pasta. Pour dressing over ingredients and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle with additional salt + pepper + oregano if desired.

Store in an air-tight container for up to 7 days in the refrigerator. Recipe is best if made 1 day ahead of time to allow flavors to come together.

Keywords: Greek Pasta Salad

Slow Cooker Pork Tacos

April 28, 2015 by Dana

Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner and these slow cooker pork tacos are the EASIEST Cinco meal ever! Ok, ok, maybe guacamole is easier but who is really keeping tabs?

Let’s dive right into talking about the recipe, shall we? For being a slow cooker meal I kind of have a lot to say about it!

First, I’ve brought this taco meat to a few gatherings and people have always enjoyed it. This is a great meal for transporting and I’ve even served it with tortilla chips just to keep things simple. I love being able to transport meals that I know won’t somehow end up all over my car or something terrible like that (think soups!). Crockpot = Safe transporting! Plus once I arrive I know I will have a way to keep things toasty until serving.

Second, I love putting a bunch of fresh toppings on tacos like these to boost the nutritional value and make them even yummier! For these tacos I used fresh cilantro, tomato, and avocado. I also added shredded Colby jack cheese and sour cream. So basically I stuffed the heck out of the shell and called it a day. 🙂

And last but not least this taco meat is soooo a “second day meal.” You know, something that sits in the refrigerator overnight and magically tastes even better then it did the day before? Yeah, totally these tacos. If you decide to make this for an event, or just for your family, I would highly suggest allowing the meat to soak up all the saucy goodness overnight. I’m not saying it isn’t good straight up the first day but so much more flavor develops overnight. With the ease of the recipe I find it super convenient to make the day before so the next day I can think “Dinner is already done. Yess! No dishes, no cleanup.” Love those days!

Chicken Parmesan Alfredo

April 22, 2015 by Dana

Have I told you lately how much I LOVE my cast iron skillet? Yes, it’s true. A few years ago I traded in my non-stick cookware for all stainless steel and cast iron. It did take me a while to get used to not burning stuff to the bottom of them like EVERYTIME but after adjusting my heat (much lower!) I realized I didn’t need those chemical laden pots and pans after all! 🙂

Today I’m sharing this chicken parmesan recipe that goes to a whole new level by adding a super yummy Alfredo sauce to the pasta and lots of mozzarella cheese before baking it in the oven to get that nice, crusty mozzarella we all love. The best part is I used my wonderful cast iron skillet to get a nice, crispy piece of chicken without a deep fryer or any unhealthy oils. If you don’t own a cast iron skillet no worries, you can do this in just about any sauté pan, however I do love the results I get from my cast iron. Just take a look and you’ll understand! Now that’s a piece of chicken to be proud of!

Another thing I love about his recipe is the versatility. If you are short on time and don’t feel like taking the extra steps to make the Alfredo sauce you can absolutely toss your pasta in extra red sauce and call it a day. Sometimes I go the red sauce route, sometimes I go the Alfredo route. Sometimes I even toss my pasta in extra red sauce AND ricotta cheese and that is delicious too. Either way you will end up with a dinner your family will love!

Whenever I use a convenience product like the panko bread crumbs I used in this recipe I always caution folks to READ INGREDIENTS! These are the products most notorious for adding a bunch of crappy ingredients that don’t need to be there just for the sake of keeping the product on a shelf for years without it going bad. I get so frustrated with brands like Progresso who willingly put profit and production above ethics. When it comes down to it, there should be no reason any breadcrumb product contains ingredients like partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. When I started reading labels one of the first products I immediately threw away were the breadcrumbs that had been lingering in the back of my pantry forever. That alone should have indicated to me that something just wasn’t right with the product to begin with. Since that time I’ve experimented with making my own breadcrumbs (which works wonderful too!) but this time I opted for an organic panko product I’ve found in most mainstream grocery stores (check their organic section).

Here’s the product I used as well as my favorite cast iron skillet! 🙂

*This is a bulk listing.
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